Sea lice: parasitic representatives of crustaceans on whales and salmon

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

Representatives of the animal world are surrounded by a whole horde of insects that parasitize almost all the inhabitants of the planet. Sea lice belong to a subspecies of ectoparasites, those who live outside the animal's body. The most famous whale and salmon.

From the point of view of fish pond farming (aquaculture), freshwater parasites seem to be the most dangerous.

The marine parasite fauna is diverse, as are the inhabitants of the seas. There are parasitic flukes who do not need a certain type of marine animal, there are those who prefer only one "master". Only two of these crustaceans are called lice.

Whale louse

The whale louse (Cyamidae) is a crustacean creature from the amphipod order.

This is a rather large creature measuring ten to twelve millimeters, which leads a parasitic lifestyle, attaching itself to the skin of whales (with a special pleasure in the anal and genital openings) and feeding on their blood. Bite ulcers can be quite large and painful.

Salmon louse

Lepeophtheirus salmonis - lepeophtheirus salmonis is a crustacean creature that belongs to the subclass of copepods (copepods),belongs to the order Siphonostomatoida. Lives only in sea water. Attached to wild species of salmon in the ocean, falls off the body of the host as soon as the fish enters the freshwater zone to spawn.

The number of lepeofteirus salmonis in sea waters is naturally regulated, like everything else in nature. This parasite poses a danger to fish at the junction of artificial breeding of salmon in sea water and passing by wild fish.

Salmon spawn in fresh water, then the fry get out into the sea, where they fatten, grow up, get fat, then go back to their birthplace in freshwater rivers.

In artificial farming, farm-owned seawater sites are usually located in waters where salmon can grow or where they pass to fresh water.

Sea lice, photos of which are quite numerous on fish, do not care who they parasitize, but preference is given, of course, to the most vulnerable in terms of skin bite - fry. And if the size of the body of a copepod in the case of a large individual does not matter, then the fry are very vulnerable.

And if we take into account that in the "cages" where salmon should be fattened for two years, the fish live almost close to each other, then up to eighty percent of the livestock die from weakened immunity, against which all kinds of viral diseases occur (according to the data of Norwegian and British companies, the statistics of Russian farms is unknown - whether due totheir paucity, or simply hushed up).

The worst thing is that it is impossible to get rid of this scourge - sea lice of salmon fish - one hundred percent. We can only hope for preventive measures.

How to kill salmon sea lice?

Scientists involved in the parasite fauna of fish consider the simple destruction of infected fish by burning to be the most successful way. This is a very costly method. Naturally, all fish farms do not include such expenses in the budget. When income is only from sales, it will not work to take a loan for the destruction of fish. No commercial bank can afford it. In such a situation, it is easier for farms to leave the infected cages alone, hoping that the lice will be destroyed on their own. And then it becomes clear why the salmon sea louse breeds more and more in the northern seas.

Many foreign firms immediately detect infection of fish when there are only a few such individuals in cages. This serves as a signal for the treatment of fish with antibiotics, pesticides, sometimes even fish feeding on lepeofteirus salmonis, the genus Ballan Wrasse, can be planted in cages. Of course, all measures are being taken to catch infected fish, but parasites multiply at a tremendous rate.

What is the danger of infection of fish with parasites lepeofteirus salmonis

In the wild, salmon fishing is not complete without catching fish with parasites. Naturally, the question immediately arises of how dangerous sea lice are to humans and what to do if the parasite crawls.

Fishing vessel workers involved in fish processing know that in non-nativeenvironment (in the air or in fresh water), sea lice do not live, do not bite a person, do not carry any diseases.

The fish itself loses its presentation from bites. When it is washed with fresh water, parasites are washed off, and even marketability is not lost during heat treatment.

Detection of parasitic crustaceans of this species in jars is an unpredictable accident. Although for the squeamish - this is a reason to throw away the entire product, but caviar, even in the presence of impurities, does not cease to be he althy and tasty. Although, of course, I would like to purchase this product without them.