Non-technical summaries of our current project licences

Nutritional and environmental interventions to improve aquaculture 

The principal aim of this programme of work will be to advance our understanding of the physiological, biochemical, molecular and immune responses of fish and how changes in environment (e.g. temperature, oxygenation etc.) and diet (e.g. specifications, ration, raw material choice etc.) influence these responses when applied throughout a fish’s lifecycle.

This work is driven by the adaptive needs of the aquaculture industry and associated stakeholders and their need to define responses to changes in nutrient supply and/or raw material use with various species.

Furthermore there is a need to understand at a deeper level the impact of environmental interactions in aquaculture systems and their influence upon nutritional requirements. Aquaculture production systems may be entirely closed or semi-closed from the external environment or open-systems that directly interact with the external environment.

This work aims to understand such interactions at the level of farmed population and the abiotic impacts from the environment that for example may represent the impact of differential dissolved gases in closed recirculating systems or thermal variation in open/cage production systems upon the nutritional requirements of the farmed population. The nature of this work responds to emergent needs as commercial aquaculture explores a range of primary materials, for example black soldier fly meals, that may contribute to the sustainability across global aquaculture activities.

Sea lice and gill disease in marine aquaculture 

Disease and parasites affect the welfare of farmed fish and the ability of aquaculture to contribute to the global food supply. Treatments are required to reduce the harm, but they must be shown to be safe and effective first by testing on infected fish. We will develop new methods to prevent and treat disease and to monitor the effectiveness of existing treatments, including sustainable alternatives to pesticides.

Environmental and dietary manipulations: Effects on fish physiology and locomotor activity 

New fish diets are continually being developed because of changes in the raw materials being used, such as the switch from marine ingredients to terrestrial based ones such as plants, animals or microbes. In addition, there is a need to determine the requirement levels for nutrients across new and existing species being farmed. As such these nutritional responses need to be studied to ensure they correctly support growth and health, across a range of environmental conditions.

Sea lice infection and immunity and development of vaccines

Sea lice infection affects the welfare of farmed fish and the ability of aquaculture to contribute to global food production. Treatments such as vaccines are required to reduce the harm caused by lice infection, but they must be shown to be safe and effective first by testing on infected fish. Vaccination is particularly desirable as an ‘environmentally sound’ contribution to the integrated pest management of sea lice. We will enhance biological understanding of sea lice disease by assessing infection and immune response and subsequently develop new prophylactic methods of protection for prevention and control of sea lice outbreaks. The work will include developing, testing and monitoring the effectiveness of vaccines as sustainable alternatives to pesticides and drugs.