In a Canadian study commercial fish farms are lethal to some populations of wild salmon because the parasites such as sea lice, small organism, feed on fish. As per the study these parasites commonly infect salmon raised farms and also target young wild pink salmon that swim nearby. The researchers believe that if the attack of parasites continues then the local population of wild pink salmon would cease to exist.
This creates debate among the fish experts and they urged the concern authority to take some stern steps in order check these outbreaks. The government of Canada and some American experts informed that no direct link has been found between sea lice and salmon deaths up till now.
The study was carried out under the leadership of Martin Krkosek of the University of Alberta in Edmonton. The team relates the growth of fish farming off British Columbia to losses in young wild salmon. It is found that the number of fish farms in the area has risen remarkably. According to the researcher sea lice has killed nearly 80 percent of pink salmon in these areas because fish in these areas swim past many fish farms before entering open ocean.
The researchers claim that they found the data by studying 14 populations of young wild pink salmon that came in contact with salmon farms. According to them the populations of pink salmon were dying out in the areas near salmon farms but other populations stayed healthy outside those areas.
The officials of NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the United States, failed to digest such study because many conditions affect salmon such as the salt content of the water and the presence of predators that attack the fish. The American authority considering legislation to issue more permits for fish farms.
