Sea Lice Experiment (Part I)

This project is part of a larger, multi-disciplinary program studying the physical and biological implications of the fish health treatment strategies for dealing with the parasitic sea louse copepod (Lepeophtheirus salmonis)

Our research project is entitled "Evaluation of the efficiency of non-chemical methods to reduce the impact of sea lice associated with salmon aquaculture sites using the principles of bio-filtration and trapping" and is funded by the Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP) of the Dept. of Fishers and Oceans and industry partners Cooke Aquaculture Inc. and Admiral Fish Farms Ltd. The work is occurring at the St. Andrews Biological Station and will be comprised of both laboratory and field trials.

In the initial portion of the lab work, we needed to establish whether a biofilter (e.g. blue mussels) was able to ingest sea lice larvae (nauplii) from the water column. This video is the first step in documenting the filtration efficiency of the mussel. Work is continuing...