Warm water may mean malformed salmon bones

TROMSO, Norway, July 6 (UPI) -- Rearing young salmon in relatively warm waters, used when farmers want to increase fish growth rates, causes skeletal deformities, Norwegian researchers found.

Harold Takle and researchers from the Norwegian Institute of Food, Fisheries and Aquaculture Research said they found juvenile salmon raised in warmer water suffered bone and cartilage damage, BioMed Central reported in a release Monday.

"The data presented here indicate that both production of bone and cartilage were disrupted when promoting fast growth using elevated temperature." Takle said. "It is very likely that higher temperatures result in the increased rate of deformities observed in the 16 degrees (Celsius) group."

Researchers at the institute in Tromso raised 400 fish in 10 C water and 400 in 16 C water. They said they found the fish raised in the warmer water grew faster but 28 percent showed some signs of skeletal deformity compared with 8 percent of the fish reared in the cooler water.

"Our results strongly indicate that temperature-induced fast growth is severely affecting gene transcription in osteoblasts and chondrocyte bone cells, leading to a change in the tissue structure and composition," Takle said.