Sea Lice 2010

Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, will be the host city for Sea Lice 2010, the 8^th International Sea Lice Conference.

The goal of the International Sea Lice Conference series is to bring together international research groups and regulatory agencies to foster collaboration and communication on sea lice research. Since the first conference in Paris in 1992, there have been 6 additional conferences: Trondheim '97, Amsterdam '98, Dublin '99, Aberdeen '01, St. Andrews (Canada) '03 and Puerto Varas '08. Research focuses on relevant issues of the day; as the science evolves, new discoveries made and issues emerge. For example, initially sea lice biology and chemotherapy were dominant themes, whereas now sea lice-wild fish/environmental interactions, mathematical modeling and molecular genetics are dominant themes.

The 7^th International Sea Lice Conference was held in Puerto Varas, Chile, March 2008. This conference attracted 150 delegates from all the major salmon farming nations, as well as other regions such as Asia and Australia where seasonal sea lice epidemics are a concern in non-salmonid fish farming. There was good representation from academia, industry, and regulators. Topics covered included epidemiology, modeling, molecular genetics and genomics, wild-farm fish interactions, integrated pest management, resistance and regulatory policy.

At the conclusion of the last conference there was some discussion regarding the date and place of the next meeting in the series. There was strong support among the delegates for having the conference in Victoria in 2010 as it provides an opportunity to integrate the large body of knowledge, derived from many years of sea lice research in British Columbia, with a wider scientific community. Through research programs at the University of BC, University of Victoria, Simon Fraser University, the Pacific Biological Station, Institute of Ocean Science, Pacific Salmon Forum and the Centre for Aquatic Health Sciences, BC has become a leader in sea lice research with many widely recognized fisheries and sea lice experts.

Join us at Sea Lice 2010 to hear presentations from national and international experts on the latest issues and science, participate in discussions on current research, provide recommendations for the future, and connect and interact with other experts in scientific sessions and social events.

-Local Organizing Committee
Sea Lice 2010