We’re Alarmed”: Chunks missing from bodies of salmon from Pacific — Lesions in over 50% of fish being reported — Experts: “Looks like traumatic insult… followed by bacterial invasions”; Investigating for pathogens — Wounds this significant must impact ability to survive (PHOTO)
ENENews.com
August 31st, 2014
Vancouver Sun, Aug 30, 2014 (emphasis added): Sockeye salmon… are showing up this year with chunks taken out of their bodies, raising concerns about the [parasitic Pacific] lamprey’s impact on the spawning migration. Rick Jeffries, a former commercial fisherman who is in charge of marketing a Secwepemc aboriginal commercial fishery in Kamloops Lake, said more than 50 per cent of the sockeye have bite marks, some with multiple bites cutting right to the flesh. “We’re alarmed at what we’re seeing,” he said in an interview Friday. “These are significant wounds that must adversely influence the sockeye’s probability to survive.”… Lara Sloan, spokeswoman for the federal fisheries department, confirmed that sockeye in the Thompson River system this season have been caught with circular markings that could be from lampreys, but the exact cause cannot be confirmed without testing.
The Rest…HERE
