Independent Science

The following are peer-reviewed, published studies related to the issues of salmon farming. 

Studies related to viral disease: 

Oystein W. Finstad et al. 2012. Immunohistochemical detection of piscine reovirus (PRV) in hearts of Atlantic salmon coincide with the course of heart and skeletal muscle inflammation (HSMI). Veterinary Research 43:27

Miller Kristina, et al. 2011. Genomic Signatures Predict Migration and Spawning Failures in Wild Canadian Salmon. Science 331 (6014); 214-217.

Studies related to sea lice: 

The categorization of these listed studies is guided by the findings of the two recent reviews of scientific literature by Costello and Krkoek that conclude respectively that:  "The evidence that salmon farms are the most significant source of the epizootics of sea lice on juvenile wild salmonids in Europe and North America is now convincing" and "The spread of sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) from salmon farms probably contributes to declines of some native Pacific salmon populations."  

• Mark J. Costello. 2009.  How sea lice from salmon farms may cause wild salmonid declines in Europe and North America and be a threat to fishes elsewhere. Proc R Soc B 276; 3385-3394. 
• Martin Krkošek. 2009. Sea lice and salmon in Pacific Canada: ecology and poalicy. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 8(4); 201-209. 

It is not an inclusive list but an attempt to make available a solid sampling of the research done. Further research can be found by accessing the references listed in the reviews above and by accessing the "Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform's Summary of Peer-Reviewed Science on Ecological and Health Impact of Open Net-Cage Salmon Aquaculture (updated June 2009).

Studies supporting the review findings of Costello and Krkoek regarding sea lice and the impacts of open net-cage salmon farming: 

Frazer, N.; Morton A.; Krkošek, M. 2012. Critical thesholds in sea lice epidemics: evidence, sensitivity and subcritical estimation. Proceedings ofthe Royal Society of Biological Sciences  

Krkošek, M., B.M. Connors, A. Morton, M.A. Lewis, L.M. Dill, and R. Hillborn. 2011. Effects of parasites from salmon farms on productivity of wild salmon. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science 108(34)

Bjørn PA, Sivertsgård R, Finstad B, Nilsen R, Serra-Llinares RM, Kristoffersen R (2011)  Area protection may reduce salmon louse infection risk to wild samonids. Aquacult Environ Interact 1:233-244

Penston MJ, McBeath AJA, Millar CP (2011) Densities of planktonic Lepeophtheirus salmonis before and after an Atlantic salmon farm relocation. Aquacult Environ Interact 1:225-232

Price MHH, Proboszcz SL, Routledge RD, Gottesfeld AS, Orr C, et al. (2011) Sea Louse Infection of Juvenile Sockeye Salmon in Relation to Marine Salmon Farms on Canada’s West Coast. PLoS ONE 6(2): e16851. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0016851  

Krkošek, M, and Hilborn R. 2011. Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infestations and the productivity of pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, Canada. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 68(1): 17–29 (2011)  

Krkošek, M., Bateman, A, Proboszcz S, Orr C. 2010. Dynamics of outbreak and control of salmon lice on two salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia. Aqucult Envrion Interact 1: 137-146 (2010)

Price MHH, Morton A, Reynolds, JD. 2010. Evidence of farm-induced parasite infections on wild juvenile salmon in multiple regions of coastal British Columbia, Canada. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 67: 1925-1932 (2010)

Connors, B.M.;Hargreaves, B.N.; Jones, SRM; Dill L.M. Predation intensifies parasite exposure in a salmonid food chain. Journal of Applied Ecology.DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01889.x.

Connors, B.M.; Krkošek M., Ford, J.; Dill, L.M. 2010 Coho salmon productivity in relation to salmon lice from infected prey and salmon farms. Journal of Applied Ecology DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2010.01889.x

Krkošek M, Morton A, Volpe JP, Lewis MA. 2009. Sea lice and salmon population dynamics: effects of exposure time for migratory fish. Proc Biol Sci 276(1668); 2819-28.

Dill, L.M., Losos, C.J.C., Connors, B.M., and Mages, P. 2009. Comment on Beamish (2007) "A proposed life history strategy for the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) in the subarctic Pacific". Aquaculture 286: 154-155. 

Frazer, L.N., (2009) Sea-cage aquaculture, sea lice, and declines of wild fish. Conservation Biology. 23: 599–607

Gottesfeld, A.S., Proctor, B., Rolston, L.D., Carr-Harris, C. Sea lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, transfer between wild sympatric adult and juvenile salmon on the north coast of British Columbia, Canada. J Fish Dis. 32: 45-57.

Ford JS and Myers RA. 2008. A global assessment of salmon aquaculture impacts on wild salmonids. PLoS Biol 6: e33.

Krkošek, M., J. S. Ford, A. Morton, S. Lele and M.A. Lewis. 2008b. Sea lice and pink salmon declines: A response to Brooks and Jones. Reviews in Fisheries Science 18(4); 413-420.

Connors B. M., Krkošek M., Dill L. M. 2008. Sea Lice Escape Predation on their Host. Biology Letters

Morton AM, Routledge R, and Krkošek M. 2008. Sea lice infestation of wild juvenile salmon and herring associated with fish farms off the east central coast of Vancouver Island, BC. N Am J Fish Manage 28: 523–32.

Krkošek M, Ford JS, Morton A, et al. 2007a. Declining wild salmon populations in relation to parasites from farm salmon. Science 318: 1772–75.

Orr C. 2007. Estimated sea louse egg production from Marine Harvest Canada farmed Atlantic salmon in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, 2003–2004. N Am J Fish Manage 27: 187–97.

Krkošek M, Gottesfeld A, Proctor B, et al. 2007b. Effects of host migration, diversity, and aquaculture on sea lice threats to Pacific salmon populations. P Roy Soc Lond B 274: 3141–49.

Krkošek M, Lewis MA, Morton A, et al. 2006a. Epizootics of wild fish induced by farm fish. P Natl Acad Sci USA 103: 15506–10.

Krkošek M, Lewis MA, Volpe JP, and Morton A. 2006b. Fish farms and sea lice infestations of wild juvenile salmon in the Broughton Archipelago – a rebuttal to Brooks (2005). Rev Fish Sci 14:1-11.

Costello MJ. 2006. Ecology of sea lice parasitic on farmed and wild fish. Trends Parasitol 22: 475–83. 

Morton A and Routledge R. 2005. Mortality rates for juvenile pink Oncorhynchus gorbuscha and chum O keta salmon infested with sea lice Lepeophtheirus salmonis in the Broughton Archipelago. Alaska Fish Res Bull 11: 146–52.

Morton A, Routledge RD, and Williams R. 2005. Temporal patterns of sea louse infestation on wild Pacific salmon in relation to the fallowing of Atlantic salmon farms. N Am J Fish Manage 25: 811–21.

Krkošek M, Lewis MA, and Volpe JP. 2005. Transmission dynamics of parasitic sea lice from farm to wild salmon. P Roy Soc Lond B 272: 689–96.

Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infection rates on juvenile pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum (Oncorhynchus keta) salmon in the nearshore marine 

Morton A, Routledge RD, Peet C, and Ladwig A. 2004. Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) infection rates on juvenile pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum (Oncorhynchus keta) salmon in the nearshore marine environment of British Columbia, Canada. Can J Fish Aquat Sci 61: 147–57.

Naylor, R.L., J. Eagle and W. L. Smith. (2003). Salmon aquaculture in the Pacific Northwest: A global industry with local impacts. Environment. 45:18-39.  

Additional perspectives on sea lice: 

Marty, GD, Saksida SM, Quinn IITJ. 2010. Relationship of farm salmon, sea lice, and wild salmon populations. Prc natl Acad Sci USA 10: 1073. 

Brooks KM and Jones SRM. 2008. Perspectives on pink salmon and sea lice: scientific evidence fails to support the extinction hypothesis. Rev Fish Sci 16: 403–12.

Rebuttal: Krkošek, M., J. S. Ford, A. Morton, S. Lele and M.A. Lewis. 2008b. Sea lice and pink salmon declines: A response to Brooks and Jones. Reviews in Fisheries Science 18(4); 413-420.

Jones S, Kim E, and Bennett W. Early development of resistance to the salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Krøyer), in juvenile pink salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha (Walbaum). J Fish Dis. 31:591-600.

Jones SRM, Fast MD, Johnson SC, and Groman DB. 2007. Differential rejection of salmon lice by pink and chum salmon: disease consequences and expression of proinflammatory genes. Dis Aquat Organ 75: 229–38.

Jones SRM and Hargreaves NB. 2007. The abundance and distribution of Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Copepoda : caligidae) on pink (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) and chum (O keta) salmon in coastal British Columbia. J Parasitol 93: 1324–31.

Beamish RJ, Neville CM, Sweeting RM, et al. 2007. A proposed life history strategy for the salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, in the subarctic Pacific. Aquaculture 264: 428–40.

Rebuttal: Dill, L.M., Losos, C.J.C., Connors, B.M., and Mages, P. 2009. Comment on Beamish (2007) "A proposed life history strategy for the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) in the subarctic Pacific". Aquaculture 286: 154-155.

Beamish RJ, Jones S, Neville CM, et al. 2006. Exceptional marine survival of pink salmon that entered the marine environment in 2003 suggests that farmed Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon can coexist successfully in a marine ecosystem on the Pacific coast of Canada. ICES J Mar Sci 63: 1326–37.

Jones S, Kim E, and Dawe S. 2006a. Experimental infections with Lepeophtheirus salmonis (Kroyer) on threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus L, and juvenile Pacific salmon, Oncorhynchus spp. J Fish Dis 29: 489–95.

Jones SRM, Prosperi-Porta G, Kim E, et al. 2006b. The occurrence of Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus clemensi (Copepoda : Caligidae) on three-spine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus in coastal British Columbia. J Parasitol 92: 473–80.

Beamish RJ, Jones S, Neville CM, et al. 2006. Exceptional marine survival of pink salmon that entered the marine environment in 2003 suggests that farmed Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon can coexist successfully in a marine ecosystem on the Pacific coast of Canada. ICES J Mar Sci 63: 1326–37.

Brooks KM. 2005. The effects of water temperature, salinity, and currents on the survival and distribution of the infective copepodid stage of sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) originating on Atlantic salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago of British Columbia, Canada. Rev Fish Sci 13: 177–204.

Beamish RJ, Neville CM, Sweeting RM, and Ambers N. 2005. Sea lice on adult Pacific salmon in the coastal waters of central British Columbia, Canada. Fish Res 76: 198-208. 

Rebuttal: Krkošek M, Lewis MA, Volpe JP, and Morton A. 2006b. Fish farms and sea lice infestations of wild juvenile salmon in the Broughton Archipelago – a rebuttal to Brooks (2005). Rev Fish Sci 14:1-11.

Other peer-reviewed research related to salmon farming:

Pelletier, Nathan et al. 2009. Not All Salmon Are Created Equal: Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Global Salmon Farming Systems . Environ. Sci. Technol 43(23); 8730-8736.

Naylor, R et al. 2009. Feeding aquaculture in an era of finite resources. PNAS 106(36); 15103-15110

Yazawa, R., M. Yasuike, J. Leong, G.A. Cooper, M. Beetz-Sargent, A. Robb, R. Holt, R. Moore, W.S. Davidson, S.R.M. Jones & B.F. Koop. 2008. EST and mitochondrial DNA sequences support a distinct Pacific form of salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis. Marine Biotechnology 10:741-749.

Waddy, S.L. et al. Relationship between dose of emamectin benzoate and molting response of ovigerous American lobsters (Homarus americanus). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 67:95-99

DeBruyn, A.M., M. Trudel, N. Eyding, J. Harding, H.  McNally, R. Mountain, C. Orr, D. Urban, S. Verenitch and A. Mazumder. 2006. Ecosystemic effects of salmon farming increase mercury contamination in wild fish. Environ.Sci.Technol. 40(11): 3489-3493. 

Naylor, R., K. Hindar, I.A. Fleming, R. Goldburg, S. Williams, J. Volpe, F. Whoriskey, J. Eagle, D. Kelso and M. Mangel. 2005. Fugitive salmon: Assessing the risks of escaped fish from net-pen aquaculture. Bioscience. 55(5):427-437. 

Werring, J. 2003. Implications of holding diseased fish in open net-pen fish farms and the potential impacts on wild fish and adjacent, disease-free farms, with particular reference to Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis (IHN).   Bioline – The Official Publication of the Association of Professional Biologists of BC. 19(1):11.

Willis, K. J. and N. Ling. 2003. The toxicity of emamectin benzoate, an aquaculture pesticide, to planktonic marine copepods. Aquaculture. 221:289-297.

Morton, A.B. and J. Volpe. 2002. A description of escaped farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar captures and their characteristics in one Pacific salmon fishery area in British Columbia Canada, in 2000. Alaska Fishery Research Bulletin. 9(2):102-110. 

Volpe, J.P., B.R. Anholt and B.W. Glickman. 2001. Reproduction of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in a controlled stream channel on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.130: 489-494.

Volpe, J.P., B.R. Anholt and B.W. Glickman. 2001. Competition among juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and steelhead trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss): Relevance to invasion potential in British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 58:197-207.

Ernst, W., P. Jackman, K. Doe, F. Page, G. Julien, K. Mackay and T. Sutherland. 2001. Dispersion and toxicity to non-target aquatic organisms of pesticides used to treat sea lice on salmon in net pen enclosures. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 42:433-444. 

Volpe, J., E.B. Taylor, D.W. Rimmer and B.W. Glickman. 2000. Evidence of natural reproduction of aquaculture-escaped Atlantic salmon in a coastal British Columbia river. Conservation Biology. 14: 899- 903.  

International research related to salmon farming:

Ibrahim, M.M. et al. 2011. Chronic Consumption of Farmed Salmon Containing Persistent Organic Pollutants Causes Insulin Resistance and Obesity in Mice. PLoS One 6(9): e25170.

Middlemas, S.J. et al. 2010. Temporal and spacial patterns of sea lice levels on sea lice levels on sea trout in western Scotland in relation to fish farm production cycles. Biol. Lett. 6: 548-551.  

Further research related to wild salmon:

Darimont, C. T. et al. 2010. Salmon from terrestrial protected areas. Conservation Letters. 00 (2010) 1-11.