He has just paddled out to one of the many net pens outside Frøya. As a keen outdoorsman, he take his kayak out as often as possible. With responsibility for biology and fish health in Måsøval, he gets many such opportunities.
He gestures with his arms and explains:
"There are several different species in this net pen. Salmon has the main role, but we also have cleaner fish, lumpfish and wrasses, which we take care of in the same way as the salmon. It's extremely important to us that in this little net, which is it's own small ecosystem with several species, we care for all of the species."
Watch a video about fish health in Måsøval:
The head of fish health gently lifts up a Måsøval salmon, while the salt water drips off the blinking fish.
"Here is a prime example of a salmon. it has a nice, intact layer of skin. Then we examine the eyes and gills. Here we can see that the eyes are good and the gills have the correct red colour. That's a good sign. Then we inspect the fins. And look for lice. No lice here," says Andreas as he gently releases the fish back into the water.
It's of decisive importance to the world community that the growth in food production takes place in the sea.
"The world's population is increasing. As the UN and several other organisations claim, the growth in food production needs to take place in the sea in the coming years. It's then fantastic that we can contribute to this food production, which is so healthy and sustainable, while at the same time helping to build fantastic local communities. I'm proud that we can give something to the world, and thereby maintain something that we love so much here on the coast."
Måsøval has strong and good biology from broodstock to harvest-ready salmon, and is focused on achieving the highest possible survival rate in its net pens.
"For us, biology and fish health always come first. We have documented again and again that when required, we adjust our production plans to safeguard fish welfare. These are truly our guiding principles. Måsøval's fish have good welfare. That's extremely important to us. If a fish is thriving, it grows. And that's exactly what we want: for the fish to have good welfare, grow, and become a big salmon that is ready for harvest.
