Michael Price, My Point Remains; Press Release Spins Sea Lice Study
Submitted to the Editor of the North Island Gazette, Feb, 24, 2011
In Michael Price’s response to my letter published in the North Island Gazette regarding twists in his press release versus his published study entitled “Sea Louse Infection of Juvenile Sockeye Salmon in Relation to Marine Salmon Farms on Canada's West Coast “, he denies that a press release actually stated “Salmon Farm Sea Lice Fingered in Fraser Sockeye Die Off”.
This press release was published in the Pacific Free Press. http://www.pacificfreepress.com/news/1/8023-salmon-farm-sea-lice-fingered-in-fraser-sockeye-die-off.html and indeed carries that title. If Mr. Price disagrees with this title, I would encourage him to contact Pacific Free Press and request a title change.
As I pointed out, that title did not accurately reflect the study in purports to be describing. The study did not conclude that sea lice from fish farms are negatively affecting Fraser River sockeye populations.
In addition, he may have misunderstood my point that low salinity levels are indeed a factor when comparing sea lice levels on juvenile salmon in the Discovery Islands area to the mouth of the Skeena River. While his study may have concluded that salinity didn’t play a part in varying sea lice levels before or after farms in the Discovery Islands area, the fact is that salinity levels were nearly 50% less at the Skeena and it was then irresponsible of his press release to focus on the relatively lower sea lice levels at the Skeena without mentioning the corresponding low salinities.
And finally, Mr. Price does not deny that a sample site was purposely omitted from the study (it had the highest levels of sea lice found and was far away from any salmon farms), but that wasn’t my point. My point remains; the press release pontificates that this anomaly was perhaps due to a farmed fish processing plant nearby, but neglects to mention that the study actually states there may be other hosts in the area that naturally have high levels of sea lice (herring being one of those hosts).
Cory Percevault
Campbell River
Critic of lice report confuses the issue
North Island Gazette, Published: March 04, 2011
Dear editor,
Re: Concerning Mr. Percevault’s letter to the editor (Press release spins sea lice study, February 22, 2011) I ask, which press release does this refer to?
Here are Mr. Percevault’s three concerns about supposed discrepancies between our press release and the peer-reviewed study it refers to:
“The press release states that sea lice from salmon farms have been fingered in Fraser Sockeye die-off”.
No, our release stated, “The implications of these infections are not fully clear, but in addition to any direct physical and behavioural impacts on juvenile sockeye, sea lice may also serve as vectors of disease or indicators of other farm-origin pathogens”.
“The press release says environmental conditions may have been partly responsible for the difference (in sea lice levels at the North coast), but concluded that neither temperature or salinity differences could explain the much lower incidence of sea lice infections.”
Mr. Percevault failed to mention that our press release and published article both stated the above, and that the paper also provided robust statistical evidence to demonstrate that the overall effect of salinity could not explain the elevated levels of sea lice on wild salmon after exposure to fish farms.
When describing the high numbers of lice found on juvenile Fraser sockeye near a processing plant, Mr. Percevault suggests that, “this anomaly was apparently inconsistent with the model assumptions” and resulted in the data being thrown out. Yes, it’s a bummer when data doesn’t match your assumptions.”
No, as our paper states, when we included this site in our formal statistical tests, the primary conclusions remained the same (i.e., salmon farms are the most probable source for sea lice infecting juvenile sockeye from the Fraser River regardless of whether this site is included or excluded).
I am pleased Mr. Percevault believes our study is a very important part of the discussion to reduce industrial practices that harm our environment. However, inaccurate claims and omission of facts about our science only serve to prolong public confusion. We encourage everyone to consult our published paper by Googling “PLoS One sea lice”.
Michael Price
Conservation Biologist
Raincoast Conservation
Press release spins sea lice study
North Island Gazette, February 22, 2011
The story “New study on sea lice on juvenile Fraser River Sockeye,” which ran Feb. 17, 2011, is a very good example of how a press release can vary greatly from the actual peer reviewed study it purports to describe.
You see, while the actual study is peer-reviewed and therefore, held to some standard, a press release can take whatever twist it likes. Here’s three twists from this latest study;
1. While the press release states that sea lice from salmon farms have been “fingered in Fraser Sockeye die-off,” the actual study says “it is unlikely that the average number of (sea lice) observed in the Sockeye (2-3 lice/fish) would cause direct mortality for healthy fish.” In fact, the study did not even look at mortality and probably didn’t need to. Firstly, because previous studies have shown juvenile salmon that are sockeye size are quite capable of dealing with sea lice and actually have the ability to shed the naturally occurring pest and secondly, the fish hosting the salmon louse in 2008 were the same batch of 35 million Fraser sockeye that filled up every inch of the river in the fall of 2010.
2. The press release says "environmental conditions may have been partly responsible for the difference (in sea lice levels at the North coast), but concluded that neither temperature or salinity differences could explain the much lower incidence of sea lice infections." (sea lice prefer high salinity levels). But the study actually states that salinity level at reference area away from farms (North coast) was 16.97%, whereas the areas near farms had salinity levels no lower than 27.38%.
3. While the press release suggests that a processing plant (8 km away) may be the source of an unusual spike in sea lice numbers at one sampling site far away from any farms, the study says “alternatively, this single location may have been home to a large congregation of resident fishes that were heavily infected with sea lice.” Interestingly, the fish at this remote sampling site hosted the largest amount of sea lice found in the study – but this anomaly was apparently “inconsistent with the model assumptions” – and resulted in the data being thrown out. Yes, it’s a bummer when data doesn’t match your assumptions.
Research is good and concerned British Columbians both inside and out of the industry need to know more about the environment around them. This study is a very important part of that discussion. Spinning that research however, is not helpful at all.
Cory Percevault
Campbell River
Salmon Farm Sea Lice Fingered in Fraser Sockeye Die Off
Huffington Post, Tuesday, Feb. 08, 2011
by Raincoast Conservation Foundation
Sidney, B.C. - A new study published yesterday in the journal Public Library of Science ONE by researchers from Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Watershed Watch Salmon Society, and the Universities of Victoria and Simon Fraser provides the first link between salmon farms and elevated levels of sea lice on juvenile Fraser River sockeye salmon.
The article, Sea Louse Infection of Juvenile Sockeye Salmon in Relation to Marine Salmon Farms on Canada's West Coast, genetically identified 30 distinct stocks of infected Fraser sockeye that pass by open net-pen salmon farms in the Strait of Georgia, including the endangered Cultus Lake stock. The study found that parasitism of Fraser sockeye increased significantly after the juvenile fish passed by fish farms. These same species of lice were found in substantial numbers on the salmon farms.
Not only did juvenile Fraser sockeye host higher lice levels in the Georgia Strait after they passed salmon farms, these fish hosted an order of magnitude more sea lice than Skeena and Nass River sockeye that migrated along the north coast where there are no farms.
"The implications of these infections are not fully clear, but in addition to any direct physical and behavioural impacts on juvenile sockeye, sea lice may also serve as vectors of disease or indicators of other farm-origin pathogens" said Michael Price, lead author.
The data further showed that the differences in infection level for one species of louse in relation to fish farm exposure could not be explained by differences in salinity or temperature.
"Given the high intensities of lice observed on some juveniles in this study-up to 28 lice/fish- there's an urgent need to understand the extent of threat posed by sea lice to juvenile Fraser River sockeye" said Dr. Craig Orr, a co-author of the study.
The study also recorded the highest lice levels on juvenile sockeye near a farmed salmon processing plant in the Georgia Strait, heightening concern for the full potential impact of the salmon farm industry on wild salmon in this region.
Sea lice from salmon farms are likely another stressor for sockeye already subjected to multiple human impacts. Importantly, however, risks to juvenile sockeye from open net-pen salmon farms can be much more easily mitigated than changes to ocean conditions from climate change and ocean acidification. Options already recommended include removal of farm salmon from the migration routes of juvenile sockeye, and transition of salmon farms to closed-containment facilities.
Sea Louse Infection of Juvenile Sockeye Salmon in Relation to Marine Salmon Farms on Canada's West Coast list of authors:
Michael HH Price1,2, Stan L Proboszcz3, Rick D Routledge4, Allen S Gottesfeld5, Craig Orr3, John D Reynolds4
1 Department of Biology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
2 Raincoast Conservation Foundation, Sidney, BC, Canada
3 Watershed Watch Salmon Society, Coquitlam, BC, Canada
4 Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
5 Skeena Fisheries Commission, Hazelton, BC, Canada
