Scientists from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) brought reporters to a fish farm in the Okisollo Channel on Wednesday to showcase their fish health inspection techniques.

The outreach effort follows an outbreak of sea lice thatB次元官网网址檚 bringing renewed scrutiny to the aquaculture industry.

B次元官网网址淥ne of the goals of this is trying help people understand the work that weB次元官网网址檙e doing in the department, which I donB次元官网网址檛 think is well understood or broadly known,B次元官网网址� said DFO senior aquaculture biologist Kerra Shaw, adding that extensive data about the industry is available on the .

Scientists checked live salmon for abnormalities before removing dead fish from the water for a closer look.

B次元官网网址淏asically I just see if thereB次元官网网址檚 any cause of mortality, if itB次元官网网址檚 related to a predator, if itB次元官网网址檚 got any abnormalities on it,B次元官网网址� said Howie Manchester, a senior fisheries biologist with the department.

B次元官网网址淎nd then from there, IB次元官网网址檒l choose fish that appear to be normal looking, and represent the population,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淎nd then those fish, I will take for further analysis.B次元官网网址�

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Meanwhile, DFO aquatic science biologist Shawn Stenhouse was netting live fish from the pens and counting the parasites known as sea lice. DFO checks their sea lice numbers against figures provided by Marine Harvest, which runs the Okisollo fish farm.

Zachary Waddington, DFOB次元官网网址檚 lead aquaculture veterinarian for the Pacific region, explained that DFO officials were making sure Marine Harvest workers were B次元官网网址渉andling the fish in an appropriate manner, counting the lice accurately, classifying the lice accurately.B次元官网网址�

The public outreach effort follows an unprecedented outbreak of the parasite this year. It took place in Clayoquot Sound during the out-migration period, between March and June, when wild juvenile salmon are making their way to the ocean.

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ThatB次元官网网址檚 when the small fish are most vulnerable to the pest. In June, free-moving sea lice in the region exceeded 13 per fish; an abundance of just three lice per fish is considered high.

At least one farm was by Cermaq, another major aquaculture company, and its fish were reportedly euthanized and turned into fertilizer.

B次元官网网址淭he scale and the degree [and] the number of farms affected [by the outbreak] was unprecedented to my knowledge in British Columbia,B次元官网网址� said Waddington. B次元官网网址淚t was definitely highly undesirable.B次元官网网址�

DFO scientists say the sea lice developed a resistance to a drug called Slice, which aquaculture companies put into fish food. When Slice doesnB次元官网网址檛 work, fish farms can pour hydrogen peroxide into the water, Waddington said.

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But the use of the chemical requires a pesticide use permit from the province, and objections from area residents slowed down the process, Waddington said.

Living Oceans and the Raincoast Research Society, two environmental NGOs, said in a that the outbreak is proof that aquaculture should be taken out of the oceans and placed in land-based containment facilities.

B次元官网网址淲hat weB次元官网网址檙e seeing here is no ability to control the sea lice and this is happening everywhere in the world,B次元官网网址� said Alexandra Morton, a prominent industry critic and co-author of the report.

She described DFO as the B次元官网网址済overnment arm of the aquaculture industry,B次元官网网址� and said the department has a poor track record on regulating fish farms.

B次元官网网址淲hat happened in Clayoquot Sound is such stark evidence that itB次元官网网址檚 not working for the salmon farming industry and itB次元官网网址檚 not working for anybody who cares about wild fish,B次元官网网址� she said.

Scientists from DFO said thereB次元官网网址檚 no evidence that sea lice poses a serious risk to wild fish in B.C. B次元官网网址� a claim that Morton disputed B次元官网网址� but said that they will continue to monitor and research sea lice.

david.koch@campbellrivermirror.com
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