Declining Wild Salmon Populations in Relation to Parasites from Farm Salmon

Rather than benefiting wild fish, industrial aquaculture may contribute to declines in ocean fisheries and ecosystems. Farm salmon are commonly infected with salmon lice ( Lepeophtheirus salmonis ), which are native ectoparasitic copepods. We show that recurrent louse infestations of wild juvenile p...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science
Main Authors: Krkošek, Martin, Ford, Jennifer S., Morton, Alexandra, Lele, Subhash, Myers, Ransom A., Lewis, Mark A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2007
Subjects:
The Louse
Oncorhynchus gorbuscha
Pink salmon
Copepods
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1148744
https://www.science.org/doi/pdf/10.1126/science.1148744
Description
Summary:Rather than benefiting wild fish, industrial aquaculture may contribute to declines in ocean fisheries and ecosystems. Farm salmon are commonly infected with salmon lice ( Lepeophtheirus salmonis ), which are native ectoparasitic copepods. We show that recurrent louse infestations of wild juvenile pink salmon ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha ), all associated with salmon farms, have depressed wild pink salmon populations and placed them on a trajectory toward rapid local extinction. The louse-induced mortality of pink salmon is commonly over 80% and exceeds previous fishing mortality. If outbreaks continue, then local extinction is certain, and a 99% collapse in pink salmon population abundance is expected in four salmon generations. These results suggest that salmon farms can cause parasite outbreaks that erode the capacity of a coastal ecosystem to support wild salmon populations.

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