Canada: Salmon farms do not cause sea lice on wild salmon

Salmon farms do not cause sea lice on wild salmon. An extensive literature review has identified overestimates of the effects of sea lice from salmon farms on wild Atlantic salmon. The study, which reviewed the Norwegian regulatory management of the salmon farming sector, also concluded that sea lice infections on farms are not associated with a measurable impact on wild salmon. The information was recently published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal, Reviews in Aquaculture. “This is an important finding, as it aligns with the research and data we are seeing on sea lice in Canada,” says Simon Jones, Emeritus Scientist of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and co-author of the published review. “The highly variable relationship between lice levels on wild salmon and salmon aquaculture in BC indicates the need for a greater understanding of all factors affecting the survival of wild salmon.” Additionally, newly released 2024 data from the Broughton Archipelago wild juvenile ...