Sea lice abundance increases in Chile
The region 10th (The Lakes) has experienced an average abundance of 3.8 parasites per fish in 2011 and the region 11th (Aysén) an average abundance of 3.3 parasites per fish. Meanwhile, the regions 14th (The Rivers) and 12th (Magellan) have not reported any parasite at all. This information was presented in a report produced by the National Fisheries Service (Sernapesca) with data from every farming cage in the country.
Caligus rogercresseyi is the sea lice species which infests salmonids in Chile. This sea lice rarely has an impact over Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) while frequently affects Rainbow trout and Atlantic salmon.
In previous years, the average parasite abundance in the region of The Lakes was: 16.1 parasites per fish in 2007, 9.4 in 2008, 5.6 in 2009 and 2.4 in 2010. Meanwhile, in the region of Aysén, the average parasite abundance was: 4.4 parasites per fish in 2007, 4.9 in 2008, 2.3 in 2009, 2.9 in 2010 and 3.3 in 2011.
