We share the position of the New Brunswick aquaculture industry itself, which opposes the use of transgenic salmon at this time. Parasites and diseases - The aquaculture industry has been ravaged by a series of disease epidemics. In North America, the most recent is Infectious Salmon Anemia. Sea lice are also a major concern. Both of these agents can kill large numbers of cage-reared salmon, and both have now been flagged as causing trouble for wild salmon populations.
Diseases are a part of the natural world.
Given that many of the pathogens are waterborne, they can travel from one aquaculture site to another, potentially infecting wild animals in their path. The best protection for wild stocks is stopping epidemics from breaking out in the industry. Industry expansion on top of existing capacity - Trends in salmon production are increasing. This is forced in part by decreasing prices, which force farmers to live off of smaller margins from higher volumes of production. The search is now underway for methods to cultivate other, potentially more profitable species.