To our knowledge this is the first study to compare plasma
variables for smolts raised in lake-pens versus land-based tanks. Wild
fish are reported to have a greater response to handling stress than
hatchery fish [65–67], and adult Atlantic salmon in sea cages have
been reported to have higher plasma cortisol concentrations [68] than
those in tanks [47,69,70]. Given these findings wewere pleased to find
similarly low control plasma cortisol values for the two sites, despite
the slightly longer capture time at Georgie Lake.