Lice off the hook

摘要

Are fish farms bad for wild Pacific salmon populations? The long-running debate just got a little murkier. Wild populations have been in decline for decades, and the sea louse, a parasite common on farmed salmon, has taken much of the blame. The louse can spread from the mesh pens of salmon farms and infect juvenile wild salmon as they head seaward. Earlier studies showed that wild salmon that encounter fish farms are less likely to survive than those in f armless areas.