Salmon go soundless

HALF of farmed salmon are deaf due to accelerated growth rates, Melbourne and Norwegian researchers have found.

With a loss of habitat and overfishing decreasing stocks of wild salmon, biologists are calling for slower growth rates in some farmed juveniles for release into spawning rivers to help replenish stocks and prevent genetic mutation.

The cause of the deformity had been a mystery, Melbourne University’s Tormey Reimer said.