Fish farm study ‘seriously flawed’

A storm has broken out over a report by Ireland’s Marine Institute on behalf of the fish-farming industry, claiming that sea lice kill only 1% of wild salmon. A joint international study led by Martin Krkosek of the University of Toronto finds the report ‘full of fundamental errors’ and points to ‘grave mistakes in measuring control and treatment groups, leading to wild inaccuracies’.

Fresh examination of the original data shows that in fact 34% (not 1% as claimed) of wild salmon die when infected with sea lice from caged fish.

Krkosek said the purpose of the research was not to downplay other factors involved, but to highlight that parasites can and do have a large effect on the conservation of wild salmon stocks.

A spokesman for St Andrews University said yesterday: “The Krkosek paper is a simple matter of scientific fact, not opinion. The facts speak for themselves.”