Examination of extensive data sets reveal patterns ...
|Title||Examination of extensive data sets reveal patterns of
sea lice abundance in Scotland| |Author(s)||J. Treasurer, C.
Revie, G. Gettinby| |Abstract||A database of sea lice counts
from 33 sea water farms in Scotland, UK from the Firth of Cyde
to Loch We, Sky and the Western Isles, was compiled. Data were
assimilated for a 5-year period (1996-2000), involving counts on
70 824 fish (salmon). The pattern of abundance is reported for
Lepeophtheirus salmonis. Lice numbers had strong seasonal and
annual patterns. When stocking took place, after fallowing, sea
lice numbers were very low and increased slowly to a level of
around 7 lice per fish by the end of the first year of
production. In the second year, a decline in counts was noted in
the early spring but thereafter lice numbers increased
throughout the year with fluctuations due to treatments with sea
lice medicines. Mean lice abundance was not significantly
influenced by coastal exposure or geographica