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A tiny parasite that occurs naturally on salmon is the focus of a transatlantic
research project that could have significant economic implications
for Canada's wild and farmed fish industries.
Dr. Scott McKinley doesn't believe in spending millions of taxpayer
dollars, or shutting down industries, to remedy a problem that isn't
supported by scientific evidence. Rather, the Executive Scientific
Director of Canada's AquaNet Network of Centres of Excellence (NCE)
is using his long-standing connections with world-renowned researchers
in Norway to determine if sea lice from farmed salmon are infecting
wild salmon, if other factors are at play, or whether the perceived
problem is simply a "red herring."
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AquaNet joins EU seafood project
AquaNet is the only non-European partner participating
in the world's largest aquaculture project. With
funding of 23.3 million euros from the European
Union, the SEAFOODplus program includes participation
from 70 partners from 16 European countries and Canada.
Starting in 2004, AquaNet will work with partners in
Norway, the U.K., France, Spain, and other countries
on research related to nutrition and husbandry. The
Canadian team will help to develop non-invasive tagging
technology for fish to study the effects of husbandry
and aquaculture systems on seafood quality.
Dr. Scott McKinley, the Executive Scientific Director
of AquaNet, credits Canada's involvement in this
project to the Network's strong research ties to the
Fiskeriforskning research institute in Norway.
"We're the only non-European state listed as a
partner, so this is quite a coup for us, the NCE, and
ultimately Canada," he says. |
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In Canada, concerns over sea lice forced 11 of 27 Atlantic salmon
farms in British Columbia to close during the migration of pink
salmon in 2003 (a practice called "fallowing").
"The controversy over sea lice from farmed fish infecting
wild fish is based on correlations. There is no study published
showing a cause-and-effect relationship," says Dr. McKinley,
an environmental physiologist and Senior Canada Research Chair at
the University of British Columbia. "We cannot ask industry
to spend millions of dollars on fallowing certain areas or using
chemical treatments unless you have substantiated proof that there
is a problem."
That's why university researchers and graduate students from Canada
and Norway have joined forces in the most ambitious international
study ever undertaken by an NCE.
In February 2003, Aquanet and Fiskeriforskning, a world-class Norwegian
aquaculture research institute, signed a three-year agreement to
exchange scientists and work collaboratively on topics of common
interest, with an emphasis on sea lice and the interaction between
wild and farmed fish. The collaboration represents a significant
investment by AquaNet, but the return on investment is tenfold.
When Dr. McKinley joined Aquanet as a researcher in 1999,
he not only brought his years of experience in sustainable management
of fish stocks, he also brought a long list of distinguished contacts
from his years of working in Norway – a country that employs
more than 20,000 people in aquaculture and is an international leader
in this growing sector.
"Having worked in Norway for over a dozen years, I was very
familiar with the scientists and the research institutions there,"
he says. It was the NCE program, he adds, that provided a mechanism
for the two countries to network their respective expertise.
Norway is recognized internationally for its expertise in understanding
the risk posed by sea lice to fish stocks and the development and
evaluation of mitigative strategies. With specialties in biochemistry
and telemetry, the Canadian team hopes to develop a cause-and-effect
tool, called a stable isotope signature, that could show a link
between sea lice on fish farms and in the wild, if one exists.
"Within a year we're going
to have scientifically based data on the risk of farmed
fish contributing to sea lice in wild fish. That's going
to tell us that we have to do more work in terms of
where we place farms, how we treat fish, or it's going
to tell us that this big scare has been nothing but
a red herring."
Dr. Scott McKinley
Executive Scientific Director
Aquanet
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"Using a wireless communications device, we can track fish
when they leave the river, determine how fast they are swimming,
what direction they're heading and whether they are hanging
around fish farms," he explains. "We can use that information
to determine an overall risk management model for outmigrating smolts.
Once the data have been compiled, peer-reviewed and published,
Canada and Norway will work on designing science-based strategies
to mitigate the impact of sea lice on salmon stocks. The joint research
could also lead to licensing agreements and other commercial opportunities
from the collaboration for both countries.
The collaboration with Norway is attracting interest among other
European countries, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, and
Italy – all of which are interested in the NCE's approach
to developing a multidisciplinary, national research network.
"We have also talked to the Food and Agricultural Organisation
of the United Nations," adds Dr. McKinley. "That could
well be our next collaboration, which would bring Canada's expertise
in aquaculture to developing countries."
www.aquanet.ca
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