Premium
Acute toxicity of emamectin benzoate (SLICE™) in fish feed to American lobster, Homarus americanus
Author(s) -
Burridge Les E,
Hamilton Natalie,
Waddy Susan L,
Haya Katsuji,
Mercer Sarah M,
Greenhalgh Roy,
Tauber Ronald,
Radecki Steven V,
Crouch Louis S,
Wislocki Peter G,
Endris Richard G
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
aquaculture research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.646
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-2109
pISSN - 1355-557X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2109.2004.01093.x
Subject(s) - homarus , biology , american lobster , juvenile , fishery , aquaculture , toxicity , acute toxicity , zoology , emamectin benzoate , toxicology , fish <actinopterygii> , crustacean , ecology , medicine , pesticide
SLICE™ (active ingredient 0.2% emamectin benzoate (EMB)), a feed premix developed by Schering‐Plough Animal Health for the control of sea lice on cultured salmonids, is registered for use in several countries and is being prescribed on an emergency basis in Canada and the United States. The concentration of EMB in feed administered to farmed salmon ranges from 1 to 25 μg g −1 . To determine the acute toxicity of the compound to juvenile and adult American lobster ( Homarus americanus ), commercial salmon feed was coated with SLICE™ at a range of concentrations and provided to the animals for 7 d in the laboratory. The LC 50 is estimated to be 644 μg g −1 (95% CI=428, 1275) for adult lobsters and >589 μg g −1 for stage V and VI juvenile lobsters. The consumption of medicated pellets by adult lobsters decreased significantly with increasing concentration of EMB. Adult lobsters that died during the study had a significantly greater concentration of emamectin B1a in their muscle tissue than those that survived. These results support the conclusion that salmon feed medicated with EMB at the concentrations used by the aquaculture industry is unlikely to pose an acute lethal threat to adult and small juvenile American lobsters.