Terms of Reference

Overview of Critical Appraisal Tool (CAT) Process and the Peer-Review of a Protocol for a Systematic Map to Address “What are the Impacts of Sea Lice from Net-Pen Salmon Farms on Wild Pacific Salmon in British Columbia?”– Phase 1

National Peer Review - National Capital Region

November 26-28, 2024

Vancouver, BC

Chairpersons: Eleanor Adamson and Kent Smedbol

Context

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), under the Sustainable Aquaculture Program, is committed to deliver science-based decision making related to sustainable aquaculture activities.

Sea lice are naturally occurring ectoparasites found worldwide in ocean waters including Canada’s Atlantic and Pacific Coast. Sea lice mechanism of attachment and feeding activities can cause damage and open wounds to the host’s skin and mucus layer. Damage caused by sea lice may increase the opportunity for co-infection from other pathogens, cause osmotic and other stress, and in some cases can lead to the death of the host. Sea lice infestations on marine salmon farms present an ongoing challenge to the aquaculture industry and regulators in terms of managing farmed fish health and minimizing the potential negative impact on wild Pacific salmon populations and the ecosystem.

The DFO Aquaculture Directorate requested Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat (CSAS) peer-reviewed science advice on the impacts of sea lice from salmon farms to wild Pacific salmon species in British Columbia (BC). Previous science advice related to this topic was completed as a Science Response in 2022 “Association between sea lice from Atlantic Salmon farms and sea lice infestation on juvenile wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia”.

For this process, DFO is collaborating with the Canadian Centre for Evidence-Based Conservation (CCEBC) at Carleton University with the overall goal of completing a systematic review to generate a state of knowledge paper on the impacts of sea lice from net-pens (traditional flow-through containment systems) on wild^{Footnote 1} and enhanced salmon. Pacific salmon in BC (includes wild salmon as defined in Wild Salmon Policy and enhanced salmon). The systematic review will be delivered in three separate phases and CSAS meetings.

• Phase I will focus on peer-review of a protocol for a systematic map, which will provide a collated summary of the existing body of literature addressing the primary research question “What are the impacts of sea lice from net-pen salmon farms on wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia?”, outlining the scope and evidence-base for the rest of the review. This first CSAS meeting will also provide an overview of the development of the Critical Appraisal Tools (CATs) to be used in the production of the systematic review.

A systematic map is a methodological overview of the distribution and abundance of evidence for various elements or sub questions of a broad question and a protocol provides a transparent, robust, and repeatable method to identify, categorize and collect literature relevant to the research question. On a specific research question, systematic maps can explain what has been studied and what has not been studied. The systematic map will provide the evidence to ensure that robust CATs are developed for the appropriate questions.

• Phase II will involve the development of CATs and the project plan for the next phase. A CAT is used to assess studies for how reliable they are in answering the overall question posed for a systematic review. The critical appraisal stage of a systematic review/evidence synthesis ensures a strong understanding of the strengths and potential biases of individual studies for consideration when developing conclusions from a systematic review.
• In Phase III, the CATs will be used for the development and production of a peer-reviewed, evidence-based synthesis on one or more subsets of the broader systematic map question related to the impacts of sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis and Caligus clemensi) from salmon farms on wild Pacific salmon in BC.

Objectives

The specific objectives of Phase I meeting are to:

1. Provide an overview of systematic map and review processes, including Critical Appraisal, and how it differs to other approaches and to ensure representation from a wider subject matter expertise; and
2. Peer review and provide scientific advice on:
1. the systematic map protocol, and
2. how to define (a priori) what will constitute an evidence cluster.

In the next phase, the systematic map will be used to determine whether robust evidence clusters currently exist for the following sub-questions of interest.

• To what extent do net-pen salmon farms contribute to the sea lice loads on wild Pacific salmon?
• How and to what extent do sea lice affect the performance of juvenile Pacific salmon?
• Does the exposure of sea lice from net-pen salmon farms have a population-level effect on wild Pacific salmon, if so to what extent?

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report

Expected Participation

• DFO: Programs Sector (Aquatic Ecosystems); Ecosystems and Oceans Science
• Indigenous Organizations
• Aquaculture Industry
• Environmental non-government organizations
• Academia