Characterization of Pesticide Post-Deposit Exposure Zones

PARR-2016-M-12

Description

The finfish aquaculture industry within Canada can make use of pesticide bath treatments to manage sea lice infestations on net-pen farmed salmon. Once each treatment is completed, the pesticide bath water is released into the ambient water where the pesticide is transported and diluted by the ambient hydrographic conditions. Non-target organisms and habitats within the spatial and temporal domain occupied by the pesticide may experience exposure to the pesticide. These deposition activities are authorized and guided by the Aquaculture Activity Regulations under the Fisheries Act. This project builds on earlier modelling and field work aimed at defining the exposure zones by refining vertical dispersion estimates and incorporating baroclinicity in the circulation models. This project will also explore to what extent the zones include exposure of benthic environments. The work will be conducted in relation to salmon farming in the Bay of Fundy and will contribute to a foundation of knowledge that can be used to design a post-deposit pesticide monitoring approach. The work also complements other projects focused on biochemical oxygen demanding (BOD) matter dispersal from fish farms.

Findings

N/A

Publications

N/A

Program Name

Program for Aquaculture Regulatory Research (PARR)

Year(s)

2016 - 2019

Principal Investigator

Fred Page
Research Scientist, St. Andrews Biological Station
Email: Fred.Page@dfo-mpo.gc.ca