Toxic Tides - The Tragedy of Fish Farming Everywhere
One of the biggest challenges facing the aquaculture industry everywhere, is Lepeophtheirus salmonis , the sea-louse (below). It's a parasite which attacks both farmed and wild salmon, causing lesions and infections which stunt their growth. But the costs of de-lousing are high. And so are the losses suffered by the industry in the marketplace. Many lice can actually kill many fish. Sea lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, on farmed Atlantic salmon, New Brunswick, CA. Photo by 7Barrym0re To fight back, the fish-farmers dump pesticides into the waters (below). But, because they’re released directly into the environment, they not only kill the lice, but place beneficial, “non-target” organisms at risk, too. And several of these live in the open ocean, beyond the confines of the farms. The latest (but not the only) cautionary tale about the wisdom of this practise, has just emerged from Norway. A team of researchers there exposed (in the lab), an important food source for the
