Farmed salmon taking over wild varieties
Published: Aug. 29, 2006 at 9:47 PM
EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 29 (UPI) -- Researchers say farmed salmon that escape from their pens may be driving Scotland's wild salmon population towards extinction.
The Scottish Executive says 1.6 million salmon have escaped from fish farms in more than 50 separate accidents since 2000, the London Telegraph reported.
The newspaper said the accidental escape of farmed salmon from pens can lead to reduced survival of the progeny of wild salmon which breed with the domesticated fish.
Scientists call the effect the "extinction vortex" because it could lead to the demise of wild salmon populations that have evolved over thousands of years in particular rivers, the newspaper said.
Conservation groups estimate that up to 90 percent of the salmon returning to some rivers in Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Ireland and Canada are fugitives of farmed origin.
The Scottish Executive says 1.6 million salmon have escaped from fish farms in more than 50 separate accidents since 2000, the London Telegraph reported.
The newspaper said the accidental escape of farmed salmon from pens can lead to reduced survival of the progeny of wild salmon which breed with the domesticated fish.
Scientists call the effect the "extinction vortex" because it could lead to the demise of wild salmon populations that have evolved over thousands of years in particular rivers, the newspaper said.
Conservation groups estimate that up to 90 percent of the salmon returning to some rivers in Scotland, the Faroe Islands, Norway, Ireland and Canada are fugitives of farmed origin.
© 2006 United Press International. All Rights Reserved.
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This material may not be reproduced, redistributed, or manipulated in any form.
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