EVALUATION OF POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF STRAY VOLTAGE GENERATED BY ALTERNATING-CURRENT ON HATCHERY-RAISED RAINBOW-TROUT

In the province of Quebec, fish farmers have claimed that growth and p roduction of fish are reduced in the presence of very low voltage leve ls. Stray low voltage at levels of 60 Hz (0-42 mV/m) was confirmed dur ing a survey of nine fish hatcheries in 1990. Because there is a gener al lack of information on the effects of exposure to stray voltage on hatchery-raised fish, a study was done to evaluate possible effects on the embryonic development, growth rate, and survival of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss. The results indicate no effect of electrical fie lds (5, 50, 500, and 5,000 mV/m) on the appearance and duration of emb ryonic development or on survival to hatching. Other bioassays conduct ed on rainbow trout weighing 7 and 116 g that were exposed for 10 and 7.5 weeks, respectively, to electrical fields of 5, 50, and 500 mV/m d emonstrate that growth rate and survival are probably not affected by electrical fields.