Stress of life in salmon cages may make lumpfish less efficient

Abstract

Masters student Fredrik Staven from Nord Universitet in Norway has studied how lumpfish adapt to life in salmon cages straight from the hatcheries, and until they become accustomed to salmon. In the experiment, Staven divided a group of lumpfish which had never before met salmon into two new groups. One group was placed in cages with salmon and another in a tank without salmon. After a month, both groups were placed in tanks and exposed to salmon. The results showed that salmon affected both behaviour and stress levels in the lumpfish group that had not been exposed to salmon. On the other hand, the group that had been in the sites salmon over a month, displayed no stress response.