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halibut
In the `Daily Telegraph' (UK newspaper), Wed 21 June 95, page 3, column 3:-
[Halibut with the bends hit farming hopes]
by David Brown, fisheries correspondent
Scientists at a research station in Scotland have found that halibut
[presumably UK halibut (Hippoglossus), not USA halibut] used in a fish farm
breeding project suffer from the bends. The discovery was made after some of
the fish went blind at the Sea Fish Industry Authority's unit in Ardtoe,
Argyllshire [in Scotland]. The problem, which threatens to delay progress
towards making Britain a major producer of farmed halibut, is believed to have
been caused when the fish were caught at depths of hundreds of feet off
Iceland and the Faroe Islands. They were brought rapidly to the surface in
nets before being taken to Ardtoe. The sudden change in water pressure is
believed to have caused a build-up of gas bubbles in the blood - a classic
case of the bends. Specialists are now trying to work out the "mechanics" of
the problem to protect future breeding stock in shore-based farms. Malcolm
Gillespie, head of the authority's marine laboratory at Ardtoe, said: "We hope
that the same problem does not apply to halibut we have bred in captivity, but
we cannot be sure. At some stage we will have to introduce new stock from the
wild to avoid problems of in-breeding, and we are anxious to keep these fish
as healthy as possible.".
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