What are the Study Reveals Genetic Secrets Of Pacific Sea Louse ?
Sea lice found in the Pacific Ocean are very different genetically from sea lice in the Atlantic Ocean, a study team co-led by a University of Victoria researcher has found. The discovery could have significant management implications for wild fisheries and aquaculture in BC, since it had previously been assumed that research on salmon and louse interactions in the Atlantic directly applied to sea lice everywhere. “Now we know this may not be the case,” says UVic biologist Ben Koop. “We can still learn from one another, but it’s likely that a made-in-BC solution is required here.” Sea lice are tiny marine parasites that feed on the skin and flesh of host fish, weakening and, in some cases, killing them. Each year, sea lice cost the Canadian aquaculture industry millions of dollars in economic losses. Sea lice are also at the centre of an ongoing debate in BC over the risks posed to wild salmon by open net salmon farms. The three-year Genomics in Lice and Salmon (GiLS) project—funded by
The discovery could have significant management implications for wild fisheries and aquaculture in BC, since it had previously been assumed that research on salmon and louse interactions in the Atlantic directly applied to sea lice everywhere. “Now we know this may not be the case,” says UVic biologist Ben Koop. “We can still learn from one another, but it’s likely that a made-in-BC solution is required here.” Sea lice are tiny marine parasites that feed on the skin and flesh of host fish, weakening and, in some cases, killing them. Each year, sea lice cost the Canadian aquaculture industry millions of dollars in economic losses. Sea lice are also at the centre of an ongoing debate in BC over the risks posed to wild salmon by open net salmon farms. The three-year Genomics in Lice and Salmon (GiLS) project—funded by Genome BC—is using advanced genomics tools to understand how Pacific sea lice interact with their salmonid hosts. The salmonid family of fish includes salmon, trout and char
