The effect of artificial light treatment and depth on the infestation of the sea louse Lepeophtheirus salmonis on Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) culture

Two field studies were carried out with farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) in sea cages to examine various effects of artificial light (AL) and the vertical distribution of salmon on lice infestation. The use of AL light caused an overall increase in lice infestation in both experiments. The first study showed that salmon held at 0-4 in depth in cages developed higher infestation than salmon held at greater depths (4-8 and 8-12 m) under both natural light (NL) and AL. In the second study, salmon maintained in 14-m deep sea cages that were exposed to AL with different light intensities. The AL treatments resulted directly in different diel and seasonal patterns of vertical distribution of the salmon and also different temporal patterns in lice infestations. So indirectly the infestation pattern appeared to be correlated with median day-time swimming depth of the salmon. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.