350 lice researchers gather at ‘the end of the world’
The 12th International Conference on Salmon Lice gets under way today in Punta Arenas in the Magallanes region in the far south of Chile.
The event is the largest and most important conference for salmon lice research and has attracted 350 participants from 10 different nations.
Punta Arenas is considered to be the world's southern-most continental city, and lies around 15,000km from Scotland. The Magallanes region is often called the end of the world.
Among the international speakers at the event are:
- Ross Houston of Edinburgh University’s Roslin Institute in genomic selection section;
- Crawford Revie, University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), Canada in the epidemiology section;
- Laura Braden (AquaBounty and UPEI) from Canada, in the biology section;
- Tor Horsberg from Norway, in the pharmacology and resistance section;
- Frode Oppedal, from Norway in the non-pharmacological treatments section;
- Beng Finstand, from Norway in the wildlife interaction section.
Organisers say there will be at least 55 talks by experts in the field and 80 investigative posters will be exhibited.
Conference participants gathered in Punta Arenas yesterday and the first talks start today. The conference will last until Wednesday.
