MSD Animal Health launches AI-powered sea lice and biomass monitoring system

NORWAY – MSD Animal Health has unveiled a new generation of its FALCON® vision technology, an advanced AI-powered monitoring system designed to deliver real-time data on fish health, biomass, and sea lice. 

The innovation, introduced at Aqua Nor from August 19 to 21, 2025, in Trondheim, Norway, is expected to help salmon farmers enhance productivity, sustainability, and animal welfare through more accurate and timely decision-making.

The upgraded system integrates cutting-edge stereovision cameras with artificial intelligence to provide continuous insights into the prevalence of sea lice and wounds, while simultaneously tracking biomass growth. 

According to MSD Animal Health, the technology allows operators to receive actionable snapshots directly from pens to their desktops, enabling swift responses to emerging health and welfare issues.

Transforming aquaculture practices

The latest FALCON builds on the company’s earlier biomass monitoring system, which has already reshaped operations for salmon farms in Norway, Chile, Iceland, and the UK. 

With the new platform, aquaculture operators can significantly reduce the need for manual sampling, minimizing fish stress and enabling earlier intervention when problems arise.

“The launch of the new generation FALCON marks a significant milestone in the evolution of sustainable aquaculture practices,” said Dafydd Morris, general manager of MSD Animal Health Aqua EURAM. 

He explained that early detection of fish lice and the data produced by the system means it has the potential to identify lice sooner than traditional sampling methods, allowing for earlier intervention. 

“This approach helps in selecting the most effective treatment products for each lice life stage and assessing treatment effectiveness for continuous improvement. Additionally, monitoring wound prevalence, size, severity, and healing status trends enables enhanced health and welfare management for fish populations.”

Among its core features, FALCON employs high-resolution imaging to capture thousands of daily images, a neural network to automatically detect lice and assess welfare, and a cloud-based dashboard that offers secure, real-time access to growth and health data from anywhere. 

The system is currently available in Norway, with rollout to additional markets expected in 2026.

Integrating biopharma and technology

The launch also reflects MSD Animal Health’s broader strategy of combining technology with biopharmaceutical innovation to strengthen aquaculture sustainability. 

At Aqua Nor, the company presented research on a new sensitivity test for salmon lice larvae (Lepeophtheirus salmonis), aimed at promoting the responsible use of sea lice treatments.

Morris emphasized the importance of this combined approach: “FALCON builds upon the breadth of biopharmaceutical and technology solutions within MSD Animal Health’s aqua health portfolio, which also includes CLYNAV®, a DNA-based vaccine that protects Atlantic salmon against pancreas disease. 

The vaccine joined the MSD Animal Health portfolio last year as part of an acquisition, highlighting MSD Animal Health’s commitment to delivering enhanced benefits to its aquaculture customers.”

By aligning vision technology with vaccines and treatments, MSD Animal Health says it is enabling customers to create healthier aquatic ecosystems while securing more sustainable fish farming practices. 

“Together, this biopharma and tech approach is helping our clients to create ecosystems that optimize fish health and welfare, which promotes the sustainable production of this high-quality food source. As a business, we will continue to invest in aqua health to enhance the sustainability of fish farming,” Morris added.

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