Abstract

The modern salmon industry has had an explo- sive growth rate since the 1980s (Dunham et al. 2001), especially in Norway and the United Kingdom. Salmon and trout production requires cold waters with high oxygen content and low levels of pollu- tants, with a preference for protected coastal sectors far from big urban centers. So, even though cultured salmonid species originated in the Northern Hemi- sphere, close to 40% of the salmon produced in cap- tivity today comes from the Southern Hemisphere, where they have been successfully introduced and cul- tivated.