Farmed salmon – mostly clueless about dissolved oxygen

Of the many factors which limit the growth and survival of farmed salmon, hypoxia (low dissolved oxygen concentration) is among the most complex to monitor and remedy.  In a new study, PhD student Tina Oldham and colleagues manipulated dissolved oxygen levels within sea cages at certain depths by the use of a tarpaulin to block the inflow of water. While caged Atlantic salmon behaviour and distribution after DO levels plummeted in this zone were partially explained by the poor oxygen conditions, other environmental factors such as temperature and salinity were far more powerful predictors of what the salmon did. These findings suggest that, in the highly variable marine cage environment, salmon are likely to expose themselves to sub-optimal oxygen conditions even when ideal conditions are available.