Large numbers of salmon are dying in the Marlborough Sounds creating a "multimillion-dollar problem" for New Zealand King Salmon.
NZ King Salmon chief executive Grant Rosewarne said warm sea temperatures at the company's Waihinau Bay farm, in Pelorus Sound, had contributed to the deaths. Rosewarne would not say for commercial reasons how many salmon had died, or how many fish were at the farm, but said the mortality rate was a "multimillion-dollar problem to solve".
Water temperatures at the Waihinau Bay farm had stayed above 18 degrees Celsius for three months, Rosewarne said.
"I don't think we've ever had it quite as bad as this year."
King salmon cannot regulate their body temperature. They function best when water temperatures are between 12C and 17C.
The increased salmon death rate in the Pelorus Sounds started in mid-February, Rosewarne said.
Read more (Marlborough Express - stuff.co.nz) ...