WellFish Tech partners with Salmon Group to expand blood-based fish health monitoring

NORWAY – WellFish Tech has secured its largest commercial agreement to date after signing a partnership with Salmon Group to introduce blood biomarker analysis across the group’s salmon farming operations, strengthening fish health monitoring and supporting evidence-based production decisions.

Under the agreement, WellFish Tech will provide systematic blood biochemistry analysis across Salmon Group’s network of owner companies and production sites. 

The programme will generate biological health data that gives both individual farmers and the group a consolidated overview of fish health, supporting day-to-day management, regulatory reporting and disease preparedness.

The partnership marks a significant step in the adoption of precision health monitoring in aquaculture, where producers are increasingly using biological data to improve fish welfare, productivity and disease management.

“We need solutions that actually tell us what is happening inside the fish, not just what we can observe from the outside,” said Jan Olav Langeland, Chief Executive Officer of Salmon Group.

“Blood biochemistry gives us that. And when we can see the fish health status across sites and fjord systems, it opens up a completely different level of coordination and joint preparedness. That is what this agreement is about.”

WellFish Tech said the project demonstrates how clinical blood biochemistry can be deployed across large production networks rather than individual farms.

“Bringing systematic blood biomarker monitoring to a network of this scale is a significant step, not just for WellFish Tech, but for what evidence-based fish health management can look like across the industry,” said Charlie Granfelt, Chief Executive Officer of WellFish Tech.

“It shows that clinical biochemistry monitoring can scale from a single site to an entire network, and that is exactly the direction we believe the industry is heading.”

Shared data to strengthen disease preparedness

A key feature of the partnership is a centralised fish health dashboard developed specifically for Salmon Group, providing a network-wide overview of biological conditions across all member companies.

Unlike individual farm monitoring systems, the platform enables comparisons across production sites and shared fjord systems, creating a common evidence base for coordinated responses to biological challenges such as sea lice infestations and disease outbreaks.

According to the partners, the consolidated data will also support structured knowledge sharing among member companies and improve contingency planning across neighbouring production sites.

Salmon Group represents 40 owner companies and 62 food-producing companies operating along Norway’s coastline. 

Together, the network produces more than 220,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon and trout annually, equivalent to over 1 billion meals.

The partnership reflects a broader trend within global aquaculture toward digital and data-driven health management as producers seek to reduce biological losses, improve fish welfare and enhance production efficiency. 

With disease outbreaks remaining one of the industry’s largest economic challenges, blood-based diagnostics are increasingly being explored as an early-warning tool to detect health issues before visible clinical signs appear, allowing producers to take faster, more targeted management actions.

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