Incorporating the Natural Cycles of Sea Lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) Production into a Management Strategy for Sustainable Aquaculture

Description

The Project will monitor sea lice development on stickleback and other possible sea lice hosts during the winter/spring months. This would supplement the research in the ongoing ACRDP proposal that looked at natural production of sea lice on adult returning salmon and on juvenile Pacific salmon in the summer and fall. This additional work would focus on the natural production of sea lice in the critical period of February and March, just prior to and during pink and chum salmon entry into the ocean.

We propose two field trips in mid-February and mid-March to monitor sea lice development on stickleback and other possible sea lice hosts of which may serve as vectors. We will collect plankton from the shallow near shore areas as well as survey several fish farm sites for stickleback in Knight Inlet and Tribune Channel. Diet of the specimens caught will also be examined. Environmental measurements including salinity and temperature will also be reported as well as fish farm sites in the sampling areas may also be monitored for sea lice during the proposed trips.

Program Name

Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP)

Year(s)

2005 - 2007

Ecoregion(s)

Pacific: Vancouver Island West Coast

Principal Investigator(s)

Robert Beamish
Email: BeamishR@pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca