Algae, in combination with hydrogen peroxide-delousing, probably took the lives of 38,000 farmed salmon at Gratanglaks and Kleiva Fiskefarm in Sør-Troms in Norway.
“It is clear that algae can cause so much damage to the gills of the fish that it has problems with oxygen supply when we use hydrogen peroxide treatment. The algae seal the gut tissue which causes the fish to face major challenges from another type of treatment, ” Jan Petter Berg of the Fish Vet Group, the firm that has analyzed the fish, told the public broadcaster NRK.
The salmon died the same day as they were dozed with hydrogen peroxide. The consequent loss for the companies was USD 627,875.
Satellite images last week showed major concentrations of Emiliania huxleyi algae off the coast of Troms. It is a photosynthetic plankton that flourishes in warm, calm weather, writes NRK.
