According to a recent report from FishUpdate, farming of salmon has become a significant industry in many countries over the past two decades. The news organisation says that major challenge facing this sector is infestation of the salmon by sea lice. The main way of treating salmon for such infestations is the use of medicines such as organophosphates, pyrethrins, hydrogen peroxide or benzoylphenyl ureas.
The use of these medicines in fish farms is, however, highly regulated due to concerns about contamination of the wider marine environment. In this paper, published in the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology, the authors report on the use of photochemically active biocides for the treatment of a marine copepod, which is a model of parasitic sea lice. Photochemical activation and subsequent photodegradation of PDAs may represent a controllable and environmentally benign option for control of these parasites or other pest organisms in aquaculture.
A New Class of Sea Lice Biocides
SCOTLAND, UK - Dr Kenny Black, Head of Ecology at Scottish Association for Marine Sciences, has recently co-authored a paper investigating the use of a new class of biocides for controlling sea lice and other crustacean pest organisms in fish farms.
