A promising next generation ingredient for aquafeeds is being evaluated at Memorial University’s Department of Ocean Sciences for its potential to impart viral immunity to the farmed fish that consume it.
The exploratory work, co-funded by Genome Atlantic and the Ocean Frontier Institute Seed Fund, involves four Memorial-based scientists, led by marine scientists Dr. Albert Caballero Solares and Dr. Matthew Rise, along with Dr. Chris Parrish, and Dr. Mohamed Elsayed Emam. Also on the team are Dr. Stefanie Colombo, Canada Research Chair in Aquanutrition, Dalhousie University and two epigenetics specialists from the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM), Barcelona, Spain.
The ingredient they are exploring is microbial oils and the species being trialed for its immune response is lumpfish. This marine fish species is used by the aquaculture industry as a cleaner fish to reduce sea lice in farmed salmon operations.
The Ocean Sciences Centre is home to North America’s leading cleaner fish R&D facility where lumpfish are raised for scientific and modest commercial purposes. However, Dr. Caballero Solares said the research team is confident the results will be transferrable to farmed salmon. “Yes, we think so. Both are marine carnivore fish, so they share similar requirements,” he said.