Parasitic sea lice are causing a global salmon shortage
Salmon stocks across the world are reportedly being depleted after the hugely popular fish became affected by a surge of parasitic sea lice.
The tiny crustaceans are reportedly infesting salmon farms in the US, Canada, Scotland, Norway and Fish.
The lice attach themselves to salmon before feeding on them, either killing the fish or making it unsuitable for consumption.
The threat reportedly resulted in a loss of $1 billion globally last year, and salmon farmers are now struggling to deal with the lice as they keep evolving.
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Jake Elliot, the vice president of Cooke Aquaculture, said: ‘Our work has to be quicker than the evolution of the lice.’
Experts warn that defeating the lice will involve using effective pesticides and breeding salmon that are able of developing a genetic resistance to the effects of the lice.
Last year, the depletion saw the worldwide supply of salmon falling by 10 percent – with Norway, the leading producer of salmon in the world, being among the hardest hit.
In 2015, it was estimated that farmed salmon is worth nearly $12 billion.
