Developing commercial rearing of goldsinny wrasse for the biological control of sea lice

摘要

Biological control of sea lice Chemical treatments applied either as a bath or in the feed have been used for the control of lice, but biological control with wrasse is potentially a more environmentally friendly alternative which could be used as a part of an integrated sea lice management plan (Mordue and Pike, 2002). The use of wrasse can also have benefits in organic fish production where there is a limitation on the use of medicines. Wrasse have been stocked before on fish farms but there have been reservations about fishing the wrasse from wild stocks as this could impact on local fish populations (Sayer, Gibson and Atkinson, 1996). There is also concern about the potential to transfer diseases to the farmed setting by using wild fish.