Abstract
Dark spots in salmon fillets represent a significant and costly quality issue for the aquaculture industry; distinct and large spots have been reported to cause an economical loss of 24 to 44%. Previous surveys have shown that the occurrence of dark spots in Norwegian salmon farming averages around 15-20%, with considerable variation between fish groups.
The current project aims to continue the survey by first developing new technology for easy and efficient registration of dark spots on the fillet line. In addition to presenting preliminary data from the survey, the presentation will showcase the technology developed in the project: 1) a camera for automatic detection of dark spots through image analysis; 2) a touchscreen-based solution for manual registration. Data from the registrations are collected in a database, where it is anonymized and used for mapping. Users can also visualize and download their own registrations.
The survey has the potential to form an important data basis for the search for causal relationships. Better knowledge of this complex quality deviation could help reduce its extent, thereby increasing the yield in salmon aquaculture, which is considered important in the work towards sustainable aquaculture.