According to a recent study by the University of Alberta, parasitic sea lice are killing a population of young wild pink salmon along Canada’s west coast in alarming numbers. The authors of the study say that the entire wild population may be gone within eight years. With their protective scales, adult salmon can safely harbour the lice, but young salmon do not yet have the protective scales, leaving them prone to deep, infection-prone wounds left by the lice. Juveniles live in coastal waters, which are normally far from parasite-carrying adults living farther out to sea. Now, however, aqua farms are often located in these same waters, destroying the young salmon’s safe haven. Scientists argue that fish farms must be relocated or reduced, but so far, no government regulations have been launched to this end.