Fish Farms and Sea Lice Infestations of Wild Juvenile Salmon in the Broughton Archipelago—A Rebuttal to

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Abstract
Contrary to several recent studies, a review ( Brooks, 2005 Brooks, K. 2005. The effects of water temperature, salinity, and currents on the survival and distribution of the infective copepodid stage of sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) originating on Atlantic salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago of British Columbia, Canada. Rev. Fish. Sci., 13: 177–204. [CROSSREF] [CSA] [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] ) of sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) interactions between wild and farm salmon in the Broughton Archipelago, British Columbia, Canada, concluded that there is little potential for sea lice transmission from farm to wild salmon. In this rebuttal, we show that this conclusion was based on a flawed interpretation of how salinity affects louse development, a misunderstanding of how the timing of salinity changes corresponds to the timing of the juvenile salmon migration, models of larval dispersion that overestimate the transport of louse larvae, and a selective and misleading assessment of the literature. We analyze and extend the current models of larval dispersion and demonstrate the (perhaps counter-intuitive) result that sustained high abundances of infectious larvae should be expected near lice-infested salmon farms. We also highlight important studies overlooked in Brooks (2005) Brooks, K. 2005. The effects of water temperature, salinity, and currents on the survival and distribution of the infective copepodid stage of sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) originating on Atlantic salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago of British Columbia, Canada. Rev. Fish. Sci., 13: 177–204. [CROSSREF] [CSA] [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] and clarify some misinterpretations. Counter to the conclusions in Brooks (2005) Brooks, K. 2005. The effects of water temperature, salinity, and currents on the survival and distribution of the infective copepodid stage of sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) originating on Atlantic salmon farms in the Broughton Archipelago of British Columbia, Canada. Rev. Fish. Sci., 13: 177–204. [CROSSREF] [CSA] [Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] , the modeling and empirical work to date on sea lice interactions between wild and farm salmon are consistent and point to a strong association between salmon farming and recurrent infestations of wild juvenile salmon in the Broughton Archipelago.

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