sea lice

Discussion area for political and legal issues affecting Alaskan salmon fisheries.
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yak2you2
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sea lice

Post by yak2you2 »

Look just about anywhere in the world of salmon, and you can't miss all the bad publicity that the farmers are getting right now from their sea lice issues, and they deserve it by the way. Most experts agree that it will likely be their undoing in the near future. The farms in Chile, Norway, and Canada are all infected, and the consumers are rapidly becoming weary of it, even avoiding farmed salmon in some cases because of it.
Sea lice are a natural parasite, but grow rapidly out of control in contained areas. Penned fish have the tendancy to wind up turning into sea lice factories, which in turn infect smolts departing from nearby streams and kill them. So much so, that some runs like the Frazier river are in trouble because of it.
In the wild we usually will see a small cluster attached to salmon just behind, and on either side of the vent.
I can't stress this strongly enough, now is the time to start seperating our product from the current stigma of sea lice. In less than a second, with one quick swipe with the edge of you knife these few sea lice will wipe right off of your fish, and leave you with a much healthier looking product that benifits us all. These tiny creatures may well become one of the biggest saving factors of our industry, but we don't want any other affiliation with them than that. Please, take the time, and bump every sea lice off of your troll caught salmon this year, and you'll make a beautiful product look even better.
Salty
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Re: sea lice

Post by Salty »

Yak,
Right on bro!! We have been taking the time to remove the sea lice on the coho and kings for a couple of years now. Just takes a couple of seconds. Also keeps them from getting on the brailer bags, sides of the slush tanks, etc.
How are things going up there in Yakutat? Really slow down here in Sitka.
Katlian
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Re: sea lice

Post by Katlian »

If anyone has a secret to removing all of the sealice in a few seconds, I am all ears. Sea lice are a crafty creatures that leap from fish to tray and fish in the blink of an eye. The processors seem to take every lice off before they ship to market. I have found it challenging to get 100% of them off in the cleaning station.

slr
Salty
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Re: sea lice

Post by Salty »

Katlian,
It is a lot easier to remove all the lice when you average about one bite an hour like some of us. A magnifying glass, a good pair of tweezers, and a lot of patience might work.
yak2you2
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Re: sea lice

Post by yak2you2 »

They really are easy to get off, though I doubt 100%. Turning your water hose pressure up a little might help. I put them belly up in the trough, and while i'm running a hose down them, I shave the lice off with the edge of the knife. Once their suction is broken, they wash right away.
A liitle more work? yes, it is, but well worth it for our industry to distance ourselves from them. I don't know for sure if the processors are getting them or not, but if I can get rid of the majority, I try to.
Salty, things are slow and spotty here too. The weather isn't helping any. The good news? Should be able to go to the end of April, and maybe the price will hold up.
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Re: sea lice

Post by Salty »

I am hoping that we make it through April too. Unfortunately my son started fishing last week and that probably reduces our chances of making it.
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