DV-12-08 Preliminary sampling of sea lice on wild fish from Cobscook Bay

UMaine Alert

Posted: April 19, 2024 - 1:32 PM

At approximately 9:24 a.m. on Friday, April 19, a University of Maine graduate student was struck by a university vehicle on Long Road at the University of Maine campus in Orono. The student reports that they are at a local hospital with minor injuries.

Emergency services, including the Orono Fire Department, University Volunteer Ambulance Corps, University of Maine Police Department, Orono Police Department and Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene.

The university vehicle involved in the incident was a Chevrolet Express van. It was being operated by a university employee.

Counseling services and support are available for students, faculty or staff who may have been affected. The Counseling Center can be reached at 207-581-1392 and the Dean of Students Office can be reached at 207-581-1406.

The scene has been cleared and Long Road is now accessible. An investigation is being conducted by the University of Maine Police Department with assistance from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit. Any witnesses to the incident are encouraged to contact Lt. Noel Santiago at noel.santiago@maine.edu.

November 8, 2018

Ian Bricknell
Aquaculture Research Institute
Hitchner Hall
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469
207.581.4380
ian.bricknell@umit.maine.edu

In an effort to reduce the threat of infection by parasitic sea lice, Maine’s salmon farming industry has adopted a three-year production cycle that rotates production sites. If wild fish are carrying sea lice, they can make this strategy ineffective.

Taking advantage of an existing Sea Grant research project that is surveying wild fish populations in Cobscook Bay, Bricknell is working with Dr. Gayle Zydlewski’s research team to collect additional data on sea lice infection in fish sampled as part of the larger project. Bricknell hopes to learn more about how lice might be surviving when salmon farms are in a fallow period, and inform development of more effective fish health management strategies.

Sea Grant funds: $4,056