Sea lice are bad. Just ask the Norwegian aquaculture industry which loses NOK 500 million to 2 billion worth of salmon to lice every year. Chemical treatment isn't working any longer, because the sea lice, actually a family of ectoparasitic copeods, have become resistant to the chemicals employed The research council overseeing the industry is allocating millions to look for solutions. While most researchers are investigating traditional approaches, one research station is employing a fish, the Ballan wrasse, to eat the parasitic copepods off of infected salmon. Researcher have found as many as 300 lice in the stomach of a single wrasse. Here's the scoop at Science Daily.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Get rid of sea lice? You bet your wrasse
Sea lice are bad. Just ask the Norwegian aquaculture industry which loses NOK 500 million to 2 billion worth of salmon to lice every year. Chemical treatment isn't working any longer, because the sea lice, actually a family of ectoparasitic copeods, have become resistant to the chemicals employed The research council overseeing the industry is allocating millions to look for solutions. While most researchers are investigating traditional approaches, one research station is employing a fish, the Ballan wrasse, to eat the parasitic copepods off of infected salmon. Researcher have found as many as 300 lice in the stomach of a single wrasse. Here's the scoop at Science Daily.
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