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Freshwater lice, Argulus, are parasites which live
on the skin of a fish, and like the much better known
sea lice, they eat the skin of fish. In appearance
they have similarities to sea lice, except the bodies
of the adults are slightly larger, clearish in colour
with prominent eyes. They thrive in warm weather and
especially in slow or still water and in prolific outbreaks
can cause significant damage to fish.
It is not known how this parasite reached Tayside
but they appear to have been present in the lower reaches
of the Earn for at least several decades and in the
1990s caused serious problems in a rainbow trout fishery
near Bridge of Earn and in Glenfarg Reservoir which
is supplied with water pumped from the Earn. Some were
also found at that time in the lower Tay. In the last
two years they have again been seen on juvenile salmon
and brown trout in the lower Tay and there are reports
from lochs in the Blairgowrie area. In dry warm summers
like 2005, these parasites could do significant damage
to fish stocks.
In the first instance it is necessary to establish
exactly the extent of their range within the Tay system
and only then can any practicable management actions
be considered. The Tay Foundation is supporting a survey
of fish during the summer of 2006 to establish this.
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Freshwater lice are similar
in appearance to sea lice and can do significant
damage to fish. For more information from Fisheries
Research Services
click
here.
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