Around the world, these animals voraciously consume fish eggs and larvae, routinely undermine marine farming efforts, and outcompete adult fish by consuming the resources they need to survive.
Fish eggs, larvae, and juveniles are easily available, nutrient-rich meals, and with thousands of eggs in a clutch, plenty are still available to hatch after the adults have snacked.
First, large individuals have the greatest number of successful offspring both because bigger fish produce more eggs and because the eggs they produce also contain a more generous food supply for the baby fishies.
Even in Norway, where about half the country's salmon farms use RAS, it is limited to the first stage of the fish's life. Juvenile fish are still grown into adults in standard open-water pens.