Interesting Study on Sealice transfer from farmed to wild fish

[nedarb2]

Farmers still argue that they dont have sealice? this is a 2004 study.

"Assuming the farm is 0.2 km in length, then the production of infective copepodids by the farm was on average 3.14×10[SUP]4[/SUP] times greater than natural production in this spatial interval. This corresponds to an infection pressure near the farm that was on average 73 times greater than ambient levels and exceeded ambient levels for an average of 30 km."

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/272/1564/689.full

 

[Whole in the Water]

Seems like a legitimate scientific study that proves that net pen fish farms are highly effective lice factories. Alex Morton and others have been saying this for years. More evidence to demand that they need to be moved out of the water on to the land! All fish farms close to wild salmon migration routes need to be shut down immediately!

We all have been focussed on the salmon ISAv disease issue lately, and understandibly so, but there are many more compelling reasons to get fish farms out of our water such as:
- the vast amounts of pollution they cause in the form of fish waste, pesticides (slice), etc.
- the unknown impact of large numbers of escaped Atlantic salmon in BC waters,
- the by catch harvest of herring and wild salmon when collecting/transporting farmed fish,
- the mining of the sea of plankton, krill and bait fish to feed the farm fish. It is unsustainable it take more wild fish to create a farmed fish,
- lastly, of course the major sea lice infestations that harm wild salmon.

We need to pressure our elected leaders to get these dangerous factory feedlots out of our waters for a whole host of good reasons.