Breeding will banish sea lice: Glasgow team

RESEARCHERS at the University of Glasgow say they have developed a simple protocol to breed fish resistant to sea lice.

They have also produced a mathematical model to predict the response to selection.

Results have indicated that fish respond quickly to selection and resistant fish populations will require substantially fewer treatments to control lice.

The study, published in the Royal Society journal Interface, found in some instances as few as 10 generations may produce fish that naturally control infection and seldom require treatment.

Professor Michael Stear said: ‘Our re- search has produced a practical tool for quantifying resistance to sea lice and shown that selection could substantially reduce the need for drug treatments.’