Effect of government removal of salmon farms on sea lice infection of juvenile wild salmon in the Discovery Islands
In response to a federal government order, the number of salmon farms operating in the Discovery Islands region declined from eight in 2020, to one in 2022. Over this period, 1627 juvenile pink ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum ( Oncorhynchus keta) salmon captured at sites throughout the study area...
| Published in: | Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Other Authors: | , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Canadian Science Publishing
2023
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0039 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0039 https://cdnsciencepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjfas-2023-0039 |
| Summary: | In response to a federal government order, the number of salmon farms operating in the Discovery Islands region declined from eight in 2020, to one in 2022. Over this period, 1627 juvenile pink ( Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum ( Oncorhynchus keta) salmon captured at sites throughout the study area were examined for sea lice. The average number of sea lice per juvenile salmon declined by 96% over the study period. Such a substantial decline was not witnessed in similar samples from the nearby Broughton Archipelago. The decline could not be attributed to chance sampling, and only a small proportion of it was associated with environmental fluctuations. |
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