This picture prompted Sobeys to pull whole salmon from its stores. (Facebook)

Sobeys has pulled all whole Atlantic salmon from its stores in the Maritimes in response to concerns over sea lice.

The decision to pull the salmon appears to be the result of a campaign launched by anti fish farming activist Alexandra Morton.

Last week she started buying whole salmon at local grocery stores across the Maritimes and posting images of what she says are salmon infected with sea lice.

When an image was posted to the Sobeys Facebook page on Wednesday the company responded by removing all whole salmon from all 84 of its Maritime stores.

Sobeys spokeswoman Cynthia Thompson says its move was a pro-active measure while Sobeys investigates.

She said the company has not determined whether there is in fact a problem with sea lice on the farmed Atlantic salmon it sells.

Thompson said an approximate total of 84 fish were removed from the shelves.

Environmental concerns about farmed salmon were raised earlier this year in Nova Scotia when Cooke Aquaculture was forced to destroy hundreds of thousands of salmon after an outbreak of salmon anemia.