Sea lice resistance to pesticide 'inevitable' on West Coast

Judith Lavoie
May 11th, 2010
The Times Colonist and The Vancouver Sun

It is almost inevitable that sea lice at B.C. salmon farms will become resistant to the chemical pesticide used to kill them, scientists at an international sea lice conference in Victoria said yesterday.

"One of the biggest issues is that in Norway and Chile there's a documented resistance to treatment -- and that is really huge," said Ben Koop, biology department professor at the University of Victoria and a conference organizer.

"I think resistance on the West Coast is inevitable. It worries everybody, but because our ecosystems are different, I would expect a slow evolution to resistance," he said.

The only universal treatment for sea lice at salmon farms is the product Slice, which uses the chemical emamectin benzoate to kill lice.

However, lice living in isolated communities, treated only with Slice, develop resistance.

Read the full story in The Times Colonist  or The Vancouver Sun

Read related stories:

• Courier Islander; May 14, 2010; "Sea lice pesticide resistance 'inevitable'"