Cataract is one of the most expensive diseases in the farming of Atlantic salmon (
Salmo salar L.). In addition to the economic implications, the production of fish with visual disturbance raises ethical questions. Lens changes vary from small opacities, mainly at the anterior pole to complete cataracts. Rapidly developing cataracts frequently lead to increased water uptake, swelling of the lens fibres and occasional rupture of the posterior lens capsule. The cause of cataracts in farmed salmon may be considered multifactorial, with both dietary factors as well as environmental factors involved in cataractogenesis.
In wild migrating postsmolt salmon, osmotic cataracts have been diagnosed in a substantial number of fish during the last years. The changes vary from a hazy opacity in the anterior lens to cataracts causing blindness. Severely affected lenses appear swollen, and large vacuoles can be found in the opaque areas. Defective osmoregulation is the most likely explanation for the lens changes.
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