Aquaculture Environment Interactions
AEI is a gold Open Access journal and a multidisciplinary forum for primary research studies on the environmental sustainability of aquaculture.
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3354/aei00498
copiedSpatiotemporally dependent relationship between salmon lice from salmon farms and infestation on juvenile Pacific salmon in British Columbia, Canada
ABSTRACT:
This study examines the relationship between salmon lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis infestation pressure from Atlantic salmon farms and the prevalence of L. salmonis on wild juvenile Pacific salmon in British Columbia, Canada. We estimated weekly copepodids released from salmon farms and analysed infestation data from wild juvenile chum salmon Oncorhynchus keta and pink salmon O. gorbuscha across 4 regions from 2016 to 2023. A mixed-effects regression model revealed a significant positive relationship between farm-derived infestation pressure and L. salmonis prevalence on wild salmon at the sampling event level, with notable spatial and temporal variations. Chum salmon exhibited higher infestation rates than pink salmon, and fish length was positively correlated with infestation likelihood at the individual level. Our findings highlight the importance of accounting for fish length, environmental variables, and larval dispersal patterns to refine infestation pressure estimates. The complexities and uncertainties in quantifying infestation pressure underscore the need for further research. Future studies should validate underlying assumptions and incorporate additional variables and methodologies to improve assessments of infestation pressure on wild salmon populations.
KEYWORDS
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Jaewoon Jeong (Corresponding Author)
jwjeong79@gmail.com, Jaewoon.Jeong@dfo-mpo.gc.ca
Simon Jones (Co-author)
Stewart Johnson (Co-author)
Lily Weber (Co-author)
G. Jay Parsons (Co-author)
Handling Editor:
Bengt Finstad, Trondheim, Norway
Reviewers:
3 anonymous referees
Acknowledgements:
We thank Dr. Sonja Saksida for her valuable contribution in reviewing the manuscript, and to the members of the BC Salmon Farmers Association for granting access to environmental data.