Tag sea lice

At the recent GOAL conference, the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association committed to reveal sea lice counts at farms operating in the province while promising a future without antibiotics, despite struggles with the persistent yellow mouth disease. 

The British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association releases its first annual Sustainability Progress Report as the Global Aquaculture Alliance hosts its GOAL conference in Vancouver, B.C. The group intends to share progress on environmental, social and economic impacts. 

Sea lice are a significant threat to the Chilean salmon-farming industry. Chilean salmon farmers also understand that prevention and good management practices based on biosecurity measures are the best tools to minimize outbreaks of disease. 

Environmental and fish health problems have affected Chile’s salmon farmers since 2004. As production ramped up, 2006 saw an increase in sea lice that reduced output. In 2007, infectious salmon anemia spread across the farming region and quickly cut production. 

In research for Norway’s salmon farmers, the authors documented effective bath treatments against sea lice infestations in large net pens using skirts or tarpaulins to define the treatment area. 

The Ecofish project is developing the commercial rearing of Ballan wrasse and methods for use of the fish to control sea lice in cod and salmon cages. 

Parasite management is crucial for cod farming in Scotland. The main threat comes from parasites with direct or single-host life cycles.