April 21, 2021 — A growing demand for cleaner fish in salmon farms raises concerns about overfishing and human-mediated geneflow to wild populations. A recent study reveals that up to 20 percent of the local populations of corkwing wrasse in mid Norway may constitute escapees and hybrids.
Every year, millions of wrasses are caught along the Swedish and Norwegian coasts, and transported to salmon farms for parasite control. Effects on the wild harvested populations, and the risks from cleaner fish escaping the farms, are poorly investigated.
Two recently published studies take a closer look at how the current fishery is affecting source populations and ecosystems, and to what degree translocated fish are escaping and mixing with populations outside the fish farms.