Credit: Pacific Salmon Foundation |
When young Fraser River sockeye salmon swim past fish farms in the Discovery Islands, B.C., the exposure rate to the harmful pathogen Tenacibaculum maritimum is 12 times higher than elsewhere, according to a new study based on a decade of research by the Pacific Salmon Foundation.
Over 10 years, researchers collected about 2,200 samples from juvenile salmon as they left the Fraser River and migrated to the ocean, travelling between Vancouver Island and the coast of the mainland. |
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As they swam through the Discovery Islands near Campbell River, which are home to 19 fish farms, the salmon were more likely to pick up the bacterium than in any other location along their route, the study suggests.
Scientist Andrew Bateman, lead author of the publication, argued that the results mean fish farms should be kept from operating along the salmon's migratory route.
"If we are wanting to protect these Fraser River sockeyes, we need to give them the best shot that we can," said Bateman. |
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