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Health news lately has had one clear recommendation: eat more foods high in omega-3 fatty acids. And the omega oil feeding frenzy has driven up the demand for salmon. Much of which comes from fish farms. But in a study in the December 14th issue of the journal Science, researchers say these farms could drive wild salmon populations to extinction. The problem is a parasite called sea lice. They latch onto salmon skin in the open ocean. And they also thrive in fish farms. Adult salmon can stand to have some lice. But the parasites kill off vulnerable juveniles.
Usually, little ones swimming in a river aren't exposed to sea lice. But in British Columbia, the plethora of fish farms near rivers means that wild juveniles are catching sea lice and dying off at alarming rates. Scientists say within another four years, just two salmon generations, wild salmon populations could collapse by 99 percent. They suggest two options—either put farmed fish in fully enclosed pens instead of the open nets currently used. Or move the farms away from rivers. Otherwise, wild salmon face a an upstream battle for survival.
—Cynthia Graber
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2 Comments
Add CommentYour probably plenty smart but this "scientists say"...and then: 'Shock-n-Awe' competitive news trend devalidates the seiriousness of ths issue. I would change 99% to 40% if you want creditability. These fish lice are in many lakes also on all species and yes they hurt the fish but kill off 99%...it is just not happening!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI would like to see Scientific American take another look at this issue.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI work in the salmon farming industry and there is a lot of misinformation about what we do, and its environmental effects. There is a lot of differing scientific opinion on this issue and the study referred to in this brief was just plain wrong. B.C. salmon didn't go extinct but in fact came back in record numbers this year, 2010, despite salmon farms changing nothing significant about their operations since 2007.
Also, a new scientific study comes to drastically different conclusions than this one: http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-12-wild-salmon-decline-sea-lice.html
I challenge Scientific American to revisit this issue, fairly, and our company would be happy to help set up an interview and tour of our farms for a writer/photographer.