Norway ups warning for salmon lice

Salmon--the fancied delicacy in Norway and a must have in Norwegian holidays-- is increasingly threatened by the lice as the parasite spreads rapidly among farmed salmon. 

 

Fish farmers says the population of Lepeophtheirus salmonis, a tiny sea louse that feeds on the salmon's skin and mucous membranes has increased thrice from last year, according to AFP news.

 

A natural element from the sea, the louse poses no risk to human consumption as it normally falls off during transport or processing, and the fish that have been esthetically damaged are usually cut up into fillets instead of being sold whole.

 

But the parasite's rapid proliferations in the fish farms are nonetheless causing concern.

 

Ole Fjetland of the Norwegian Food Safety Authority said the louse is the main threat to sustainable fish farming in Norway, both because of its effects on the farmed fish and its impact on wild salmon.

 

The parasite can latch onto a multitude of hosts due to the large number of fish in the farms' submerged cases.

 

Ketil Rykhus of the Norwegian Seafood Federation that represents the salmon industry tells that while salmon can cope with lice, they are worried that the infection could lead to other illnesses.

 

More worrisome is the infection of wild salmon, particular is the smolt due to strong currents which make the smaller fish more vulnerable than the salmon as they swim near the farms as part of their migration from the rivers to the sea during the spring.

 

In some farms, between 15-20% of smolt succumb to the louse, according to estimates from the Directorate for Nature Management.

 

Wild Atlantic salmon stocks are already very fragile, having been almost halved since 1970, according to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.

 

The causes are still not known but several factors are suspected: pollution, rising acidity levels in the water, hydroelectric dams, and breeding with escaped farmed fish which, in addition to being full of lice, weaken the wild salmon's gene pool.

Keen to protect the reputation of a sector whose exports were valued at EUR2.5 billion (US$3.5 billion) last year, fish farmers have spent some EUR60 million (US$86.2 million) this year on anti-lice measures.

 

And they could spend twice that next year.

 

While waiting to see what happens, the government has meanwhile decided to put off a decision on whether to increase salmon production by 5% in 2010.

 

To delouse the fish, the industry uses chemicals or wrasse, a small fish that sucks out the lice.

 

A new anti-lice campaign will be launched early next year, before the big migration of smolt, according to Jensen.

 

The problem according to Karoline Andaur a biologist at the Norwegian branch of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) is that with fish farms, sea lice have many potential hosts all year long.

 

The louse has become resistant to the main chemicals and in winter when the water is cold the wrasse become lethargic, she adds.

 

In order to protect the wild salmon, WWF has called for a slaughter of the most-infected farmed stocks.

 

The Norwegian Seafood Federation says that's out of the question for the time-being.

 

Meanwhile, the Directorate for Nature Management and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (Nina) have issued a warning that salmon farming in Norway must be reduced during 2010.

 

The warning is directed to the new Minister for Fisheries, Lisbeth Berg-Hansen, a former head of the Norwegian salmon farming association and the owner of a salmon farm.

 

According to Norwegian press reports, Nina estimates that the current level of fish farming in Norway is six to seven times the sustainable limit. There are now 350 million farmed salmon in pens along the Norwegian coast, implying a sea lice burden of 300 to 350 million.

 

The Norwegian Salmon Association has said the situation and has also drawn attention to the increased resistance of sea lice to the main chemical treatment being used. They have called for a halt to further growth for the industry.

 

While the levels of farmed salmon production in Ireland are nowhere near those of Norway, farms are concentrated in particular areas, according to Salmon Watch Ireland.

 

The damage inflicted on migrating juvenile salmon by sea-lice concentrations generated by farms has also been researched by Irish scientists, and with conclusions similar to those carried out in Norway and Scotland.

 

Salmon Watch Ireland has lodged a complaint with the EU Commission about the problem, arguing that the Government is failing to apply the terms of the EU Habitats Directive to the management of salmon farms.

 

The Minister for Natural Resources, Conor Lenihan, and the Minister for Finance, his brother Brian, co-signed an order cutting rod angling licence fees for 2010 by 10%.

 

Proceeds from the new licence fees will be invested in management initiatives designed to rehabilitate wild salmon stocks and habitats. The licence includes a salmon conservation levy equivalent to 50% of the licence fee.

 

Licence fees for 2010 are: All regions (A): EUR120 (US$172.58) ; one region (B): EUR58 (US$83.14); 21-day (R): EUR46 (US$66.16); 1-day (S): EUR32 (US$46.02); juvenile (P): EUR18 (US$25.88).