Farmed Salmon Show No Pathological Alterations When Exposed to Acoustic Treatment for Sea Lice Infestation

The use of bioacoustic methods to address sea lice infestation in salmonid farming is a promising innovative method but implies an exposure to sound that could affect the fish. An assessment of the effects of these techniques related to the salmon’s welfare is presented here. The fish were repeatedl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Main Authors: Marta Solé, Maria Constenla, Francesc Padrós, Antoni Lombarte, José-Manuel Fortuño, Mike van der Schaar, Michel André
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021
Subjects:
salmon
Salmo salar
acoustic trauma
scanning electron microcopy
otolith organ
lateral line
Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering
VM1-989
Oceanography
GC1-1581
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse9101114
https://doaj.org/article/b614972eaf554f42b7c7c7ff208e33a2
Description
Summary:The use of bioacoustic methods to address sea lice infestation in salmonid farming is a promising innovative method but implies an exposure to sound that could affect the fish. An assessment of the effects of these techniques related to the salmon’s welfare is presented here. The fish were repeatedly exposed to 350 Hz and 500 Hz tones in three- to four-hour exposure sessions, reaching received sound pressure levels of 140 to 150 dB re 1 µPa 2 , with the goal of reaching total sound exposure levels above 190 dB re 1 µPa 2 s. Gross pathology and histopathological analysis performed on exposed salmons’ organs did not reveal any lesions that could be associated to sound exposure. The analysis of their otoliths through electron microscopy imaging confirmed that the sound dose that was used to impair the lice had no effects on the fish auditory organs.

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