Journal
AQUACULTURE ENVIRONMENT INTERACTIONS
Volume 13, Issue -, Pages 505-513Publisher
INTER-RESEARCH
DOI: 10.3354/aei00423
Keywords
Gene flow; Aquaculture; Atlantic salmon; Salmo salar; Single nucleotide polymorphisms; SNPs
Categories
Funding
- Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management [127118, 2172-19, 1162-20]
- NINA funding
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The study confirmed the presence of escaped farmed salmon and genetic introgression in salmon rivers on the west coast of Sweden, at levels similar to those in neighboring Norway. These findings raise concerns over the long-term impact of escaped farmed salmon on the ecosystem, highlighting the need for more permanent monitoring. The results also suggest that farmed gene flow may pose a transboundary problem with potential international implications.
Escaped farmed Atlantic salmon represent a well-documented and ongoing threat to wild conspecific populations. In Norway, the world-leading producer of farmed salmon, annual monitoring of straying and genetic introgression by farmed escapees in wild salmon rivers has been carried out since the late 1980s. In this study, we applied molecular and statistical methods routinely used in the Norwegian monitoring programme to investigate the magnitude of escaped farmed salmon and genetic introgression in salmon rivers on the west coast of Sweden, where suspected escapees have been observed. Our results confirm that escaped farmed salmon stray, successfully spawn, and produce offspring at levels similar to those observed in neighbouring Norway. These findings raise concerns over population productivity and long-term viability and highlight the need for more permanent monitoring of the presence and consequences of escaped farmed salmon in Swedish salmon rivers. Our results further illustrate that farmed gene flow may constitute a transboundary problem with potential international implications.
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