1. Introduction
The finfish aquaculture industry currently follows a development where individual production units (i.e. net-cages or tanks) increase in physical size and fish holding capacity. Cages with circumferences of 157 m and depths down to 50 m are today common in the salmon industry (Jensen et al., 2010), and even larger cages with circumferences up to 200 m are seeing increased usage. According to present Norwegian regulations, each cage may be stocked with up to 200,000 individual fish and 25 kg fish m− 3. Although this has increased the production capacity of individual cages, the number of cages at each farm site is generally not reduced, meaning that the average fish farm is now producing larger amounts of fish than before. These trends indicate that the industry is experiencing a drive toward economies of scale, giving reduced production costs and increased production efficiency. In the wake of the industrial development, the amount of research targeting cultured fish has increased, typically aiming to improve production efficiency (e.g. Aas et al., 2006), reduce environmental impacts (e.g. Bendiksen et al., 2011) and ensure fish welfare (e.g. Oppedal et al., 2011b). Much of this research involves experimentation using lab facilities that feature experimental units of significantly smaller physical scales than commercial production volumes. There are several reasons for this disparity in physical scale. First, for ethical reasons, one always seeks to use as few individuals as possible in animal experiments. Second, it is both economically and practically more manageable to maintain smaller units in research experiments. Third, the production environment and the fish population are easier to monitor and control in small volumes as opposed to large volumes.
1. บทนำThe finfish aquaculture industry currently follows a development where individual production units (i.e. net-cages or tanks) increase in physical size and fish holding capacity. Cages with circumferences of 157 m and depths down to 50 m are today common in the salmon industry (Jensen et al., 2010), and even larger cages with circumferences up to 200 m are seeing increased usage. According to present Norwegian regulations, each cage may be stocked with up to 200,000 individual fish and 25 kg fish m− 3. Although this has increased the production capacity of individual cages, the number of cages at each farm site is generally not reduced, meaning that the average fish farm is now producing larger amounts of fish than before. These trends indicate that the industry is experiencing a drive toward economies of scale, giving reduced production costs and increased production efficiency. In the wake of the industrial development, the amount of research targeting cultured fish has increased, typically aiming to improve production efficiency (e.g. Aas et al., 2006), reduce environmental impacts (e.g. Bendiksen et al., 2011) and ensure fish welfare (e.g. Oppedal et al., 2011b). Much of this research involves experimentation using lab facilities that feature experimental units of significantly smaller physical scales than commercial production volumes. There are several reasons for this disparity in physical scale. First, for ethical reasons, one always seeks to use as few individuals as possible in animal experiments. Second, it is both economically and practically more manageable to maintain smaller units in research experiments. Third, the production environment and the fish population are easier to monitor and control in small volumes as opposed to large volumes.
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