Interactions of Atlantic salmon in the Pacific northwest environment II. Organic wastes

The second paper evaluating the environmental risks associated with the culture of Atlantic salmon in the Pacific Northwest addresses organic wastes released from net-pens. It begins with the minor effects caused by dissolved nutrients from organic waste in the water column, and then follows in some detail with the more significant environmental effects created by the deposition of waste onto the benthos under and adjacent to salmon farms. The information is supplemented with new data from case studies to elucidate the relationship between organic inputs from salmon farms, which cause changes in sediment chemistry resulting in predictable biological responses. The paper continues with a discussion of chemical and biological remediation of sediments near salmon farms, and ends with some conclusions on the varying degrees of risk from the presence and accumulation of organic wastes. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.