Salmon farmers in bitter dispute over sea lice

Environmental researchers and salmon farmers have clashed over how Norway’s salmon industry should raise and treat farmed fish.

Researchers at the Institute of Marine Research found that sea lice are having a major negative environmental impact on farmed salmon. The lice are so omnipresent, they could threaten the growth of the industry, the researchers said.

This finding has led to a dispute between the institute, the Norwegian Seafood Association, and fisheries minister Per Sandberg. The seafood association criticised the institute’s research. Academics hit back, saying that their research freedom was under threat, the Dagbladet newspaper reported last week.