Sea lice cause huge losses to the salmon industry. Wrasse present an environmentally acceptable alternative to chemical methods of control. This book draws together the latest information on the biology and culture of wrasse, and the use of wrasse in controlling sea lice.
Part 1 Wrasse biology: North-European wrasse; seasonal, sexual and geographical variation in the biology of goldsinny, corkwing and rock cook on the west coast of Scotland; observation of wrasse on an artificial reef; field observations for the cleaning of ballan wrasse and torment feeding; the territorial range of goldsinny wrasse on a small natural reef; distribution and abundance of wrasse in an area of Northern Norway; capture techniques for wrasse in inshore waters of West Scotland; the biology of inshore goldsinny populations - can they sustain commercial exploitation?; the effect of intensive fishing of wild wrasse populations in Lettercallow Bay, Ireland - implications for the future management of the fishery; survival, osmoregulation and oxygen consumption of wrasse at low salinity and/or low temperature; preliminary breeding trials of wrasse in an intensive system; preliminary trials on the culture of goldsinny and corkwing wrasse. Part 2 Aquaculture applications: development and future of cleaner fish technology, and other biological control techniques, in fish farming; wrasse as cleaner fish of sea lice on farmed Atlantic salmon in West Scotland; large-scale use of wrasse to control sea lice and net fouling in salmon farms in Norway; wrasse as cleaner fish, the Shetland experience; parasites and diseases of wrasse being used as cleaner fish on salmon farms in Ireland and Scotland; health status of goldsinny wrasse including a detailed examination of the parasite community at Flodevigen, Southern Norway; the potential for viral problems related to the use of wrasse (labridae) in the farming of Atlantic salmon; virulence of vibrio anguillarum sertypes 01 and 02, aeromonas salmonicida subspecies salmonicida and atypical aeromonas salmonicida to goldsinny wrasse; determination of satiation and maintenance rations of goldsinny wrasse fed on mussel meat; successful survival of wrasse through winter in submersible netcages in a fjord in Western Norway; wrasse biology and aquaculture applications - commentary and conclusion. Appendix: guidelines for the use of wrasse on salmon farms.