GreenWatch

B. McPherson Many people do not understand the serious nature of the numerous parasitic sea lice that attack the wild salmon stocks on the west coast of British Columbia. These creatures attach themselves to the outside of salmon and feed on them. Before the advent of commercial net pen salmon ‘farms’ sea lice were fairly rare.  They are now found in great numbers near the net pens and prey on the wild babies emerging from their natal streams. Sea lice are increasingly being blamed for the massive mortality of some of the salmon runs. This ode was penned by a friend of mine – Andy Mathisen – and he has given me permission to reprint it here. To a Sealice With apologies to Robbie Burns Ha! Where are you from, you slimy critter? That blemish coho's silver glitter Perhaps yon pens have spawned your litter Over floats and nets? By God! You must feed well On such tame pets! You parasitic, sucking blunders Scourge of all the fish you plunder How dare ...

By B. McPherson A deadly virus has been found in wild Pacific salmon. The virus, identified as a European strain has never before been detected in the Pacific Ocean. Young stunted sockeye salmon sampled near a concentration of open net fish farms were found to carry the deadly virus. The highly infectious microbe causes heavy losses of Atlantic salmon from Norway to Chile in the Atlantic. It is speculated that infected fish eggs were imported from Iceland. When fish are infected with the infectious salmon anemia (ISA) they lose the ability to carry oxygen in their blood and die a slow and painful death. In the wild, a sick salmon would be quickly scooped up by a predator, but in the densely packed net farms, they live for much longer, shedding viral particles for much longer, infecting those around them. Once infected, there is no treatment. The virus, first observed in fish farms in 1984 is not normally seen in the wild and its wild reservoir is not well known. In the area off Van...