eDNA for fisheries and aquaculture

Commercial and recreational fisheries have moved from cautious eDNA experimentation to routine use in the space of a few years. The economics are favorable: a water sample is dramatically cheaper than an electrofishing survey or trawl.

Stock assessment support

eDNA is not yet a replacement for traditional stock assessment but it is now a routine complement. Distribution mapping, spawning site identification, and juvenile habitat use are all being informed by eDNA sampling programs.

Escaped-fish detection

Salmon and trout escapes from net pen aquaculture are a persistent regulatory issue. eDNA sampling downstream of pens gives near-real-time detection of escapes at densities well below what visual surveys can catch.

Pathogen surveillance

Pathogen detection in water — infectious salmon anemia virus, IHN virus, whirling disease — is a rapidly growing eDNA application. Screening a hatchery's water intake or effluent lets producers catch outbreaks earlier than fish mortality signals would allow.

Habitat mapping

Fish community composition varies across a watershed and eDNA sampling at spatial scales that would be impractical for netting or electrofishing produces habitat-use maps useful for both management and habitat restoration prioritization.