Biotech firm Benchmark Holdings has got big plans for its new revolutionary sea lice treatment.
Ectosan – a bath treatment – is going through the last set of big commercial trials before it can get its marketing licence according to The Yorkshire Post.
The group’s chief executive Malcolm Pye said: “It’s going very well. All the trials have shown 100 per cent efficacy, which is unusual if not unheard of. “It’s almost as though the fish don’t know they are being treated. It shows very low stress for fish and a very low re-infection rate.”
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It’s estimated that the industry loses more than $500m from` parasitic sea lice that disrupt salmon farms around the world.
The news is welcomed as there has been a industry dearth of environmentally and welfare friendly albeit effective solutions. Benchmark will also sell Ectosan in combination with its purification system CleanTreat, which eliminates all medicine residues ahead of water discharge into the ocean.
“We take out all the medicine so it’s clean water that’s going back into the sea,” said Mr Pye. “It’s a breakthrough for the industry. Many medicines have an environmental impact.” The group expects to have another year of field trials for Ectosan before they get marketing permission in the middle of 2020.