Marine Harvest explains sea lice Management
Sea lice (or salmon lice) continues to make headlines in the Canadian media circles, and the position of some environmental groups is increasingly at odds with that of industry and its supporters. The battle about scientific integrity is raging, leaving the general public in a state of confusion.
In an attempt of explaining their sea lice management strategy and its subsequent level of success, Marine Harvest Canada has issed a release, describing how the company uses treatments of its farmed Atlantic salmon in order to reduce lice levels during the period of wild salmon out-migration. The company has also gone to the unusual step of making available to the general public the number of sea lice on their individual farms at any time.
The site by site data have been made available since 2004, and according to the company release, the data show that their actions all but eliminate sea lice during the out-migration period (www.marineharvestcanada.com/fish_health/sealice) The release explains how the entire B.C. salmon farming industry voluntarily agreed to the government-developed Sea Lice Action Plan in 2003, and how the company has agreed to start their own sea lice management plan earlier than required.
The B.C. salmon farming industry continues to work with government researchers in order to share data and provide support for such research in order to develop management regimes that ensure the sustainable operation of B.C. based salmon farms and the elimination of potential negative effects on wild salmon stocks.
