lakhs of Salmon boiled alive in wrong treatment !!!

‘Salmon’  is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Other fish in the same family include trout, char, grayling and whitefish. Salmon are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus Salmo) and Pacific Ocean (genus Oncorhynchus). Many species of salmon have been introduced into non-native environments such as the Great Lakes of North America and Patagonia in South America. Salmon are intensively produced in aquaculture in many parts of the world.  Typically, salmon are anadromous: they are born in fresh water, migrate to the ocean, then return to fresh water to reproduce.  

Like, humans and other animals, fish too  suffer from diseases and parasites. Fish defences against disease are specific and non-specific. Non-specific defences include skin and scales, as well as the mucus layer secreted by the epidermis that traps microorganisms and inhibits their growth. If pathogens breach these defences, fish can develop inflammatory responses that increase the flow of blood to infected areas and deliver white blood cells that attempt to destroy the pathogens.  Lice kill many salmons… the  salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, is a sea louse, a parasite living mostly on salmon, particularly on Pacific and Atlantic Salmon and Sea Trout.  It lives off the mucus, skin and blood of the fish. They are natural marine parasites of fish, such as adult salmon. When they encounter a suitable marine fish host they may adhere themselves to the skin, fins, the gills of the fish, and feeding off the mucous or skin. Sea lice only affect fish and are not harmful towards humans.

According to a study, clouds of sea lice billowing from fish farms infect and kill up to 95 percent of the wild juvenile salmon that swim past the farms on the way out to sea.  Though they are common on adult salmon,  at 15 to 40 pounds (7 to 18 kilograms) and covered in scaly armor, the mature fish face little threat from the tiny lice. Juvenile salmon, however, are only about an inch (2.5 centimeters) long and lack scales.  In the wild, the salmon's migratory life cycle naturally separates adults from juveniles: Most adults are far out to sea when the juveniles swim from the rivers where they were born and into the ocean.

More than 175,000 salmon are thought to have been boiled alive when disease treatment at a fish farm went horribly wrong. The salmon died when their water was excessively overheated by lice treatments at a farm owned by Marine Harvest, one of the world's  largest fish farming companies, in Scotland. The accidental deaths have cost the Norwegian multinational an estimated  £2.7 million and there are calls for those responsible to be prosecuted for animal cruelty, reports the Telegraph.

The salmon died when their water was excessively overheated by lice treatments at a farm owned by Marine Harvest, one of the world's s largest fish farming companies, in Scotland.  The news broke just a month after Prince Charles  visited and praised Marine Harvest's Loch Leven farm for its 'sustainable practices'.  Marine Harvest supplies salmon to several supermarket, including Sainsbury's and Tesco, and it is feared the destruction of more than 600 tonnes of fish could force prices up significantly as demand increases in the run up to Christmas.

Some 95,400 salmon were killed at Marine Harvest's Loch Greshornish farm on the Isle of Skye in July and August, when fish were treated for lice with a new device called a Thermolicer. It works by bathing fish briefly in lukewarm water, killing the parasite's which have a low tolerance for a sudden change in temperature. No chemicals are used in the process and the fish should be completely unharmed, according to Scottish Sea Farms which invested more than £4m in the equipment this summer. However, a memo from government officials to Scottish rural economy minister Fergus Ewing show, that while the treatment killed 95 per cent of the lice it also caused 'significant salmon mortalities'.  Another 20,000 salmon were killed at the company's Loch Greshornish fish farm using a different chemical attempt to rid them of sea lice.  And more than 60,000 salmon were killed by hydrogen peroxide being used to treat them for amoebic gill disease at Marine Harvest's fish farm off the Isle of Harris.

Experts are being more and more concerned that lice are becoming increasingly resistant to chemical treatment and farmers are forced to resort to potentially risky measures to get rid of the parasites.  Steve Bracken, Marine Harvest's business development manager, told the Telegraph: 'We regret any loss of fish and are always mindful of the welfare of the fish and aim to continuously improve our methods to address changing environmental circumstances.He added the company has been dealing with a 'number of challenges' with fish health, which is increasing in this part of the world due to 'climate change'.

Man’s cruelty; food habits; negligence – all cause death of other species !

With regards – S. Sampathkumar

20^th Nov.2016