Lice conference focuses on impacts beyond the pen
Norway’s “traffic light” system, aquaculture and wild fish interactions and the potential environmental risks of antiparasitic treatments are on the agenda at second day of the Sealice Online 2021 conference today.
Speakers from Norway, the United States and Chile will present under the topic title “Environmental impacts and societal responsibility” during a two-hour session that begins at 2pm BST.
Anne D Sandvik, a senior scientist at the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) in Norway begins the session with a talk titled “Sea lice and traffic lights: Modelling sea louse dispersion and infection risks”.
Wheel of sustainability
Sandvik is followed by Tonje C Osmundsen, research professor and head of department at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) Social Research. Her presentation is called “Aquaculture and social science: The wheel of sustainability”.
Bengt Finstad, professor of aquaculture biology at the NTNU Centre of Fisheries and Aquaculture, will talk about aquaculture and wild fish interactions, and Tyler Isaac, aquaculture programme manager of Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch in the United States will present on the subject of global and national governance of sea louse management.
Environmental risks
Felipe Tucca Díaz, research coordinator, Salmon Technological Institute (INTESAL) of SalmonChile, will then give a talk on antiparasitic treatments and potential environmental risks.
The presentations are followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
Yesterday the conference heard from Dr Armin Sturm, senior lecturer at Stirling University’s Institute of Aquaculture; Ian Bricknell, aquaculture biology professor at the University of Maine; Laura Braden, programme lead, fish health and molecular biology, with transgenic-salmon farmer AquaBounty Canada; and biologist Gunnvør á Norði, head of department at Faroe Islands aquaculture research organisation Fiskaaling, which is hosting Sealice Online 2021.
Trends overview
Bricknell, whose talk yesterday covered the ways in which the salmon industry has tried to avoid lice / salmon interaction amd mitigate lice inferstation, will make a special presentation – “Sea Lice in aquaculture, an overview of current global trends” – to complete today’s session.
The conference is free, and those logging on to the event have the opportunity to post questions to the presenters. For more information and registration, visit the conference website.
