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HAVBRUK2-Stort program for havbruksforskning

Spatial patterns of PATHogen profiles in marine habitats and associations with active and fallow fish farms from eDNA sampling (PATHDNA)

Alternative title: Bruk av miljø-DNA i kartlegging av diversitet til fiskepatogener og risiko for smittespredning i miljøet omkring marine oppdrettsanlegg

Awarded: NOK 11.7 mill.

Infectious disease is a leading cause of fish mortality in open net pen fish farming and represents a primary threat to the viability of wild salmonid populations. Tracking the transmission of pathogens around fish farms is therefore an important research frontier that will help manage disease outbreaks and mitigate environmental damage. The new PATHDNA project aims to adapt environmental DNA sampling for viruses, bacteria, and parasites to model when, where, and how disease agents are spread to and from open net pen fish farms in western Norway, a hotspot for global fish farming operations. Environmental DNA contains the genetic signatures of both fish and pathogens, providing a molecular genetic trail that can help track the distribution and abundance of species across space. Sampling programs for environmental DNA have helped in the protection of threatened species and in the fight against invasive species and we will help develop this method as a tool for combating infectious agents around fish farms. The project has three objectives; 1) evaluate the effects of fish farm fallowing on persistence and spread of pathogens; 2) assess how well boats that travel between farms contribute to pathogen dispersal; and 3) validate a new real-time hand-held tool for tracking the spread of pathogens around fish farms. The project, led by NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, is a collaborative initiative between the research and industry sectors, with contributions from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, the University of Toronto, and the aquaculture industry. The project will run from 2021-2024 and will involve a detailed sampling regime to track the presence and absence of key salmon pathogens in water samples from aquaculture zones in western Norway. The project aims to deliver actionable advice on management of fish farms including the use of fallowing zones and the operation of well boats as well as new tools for tracking disease transfer and monitoring spillover between farms.

In Norway, pathogen dynamics are of particular importance to the salmonid aquaculture industry, which is a multi-billion kroner operation raising millions of salmon in open net pen farms that are vulnerable to communicable disease outbreaks. These open net pens benefit from exposing the growing salmon to ambient temperatures and flows that naturally refresh the water but also put animals at risk of pathogen transmission between farms, and the potential pathogen interactions with wild species. There is a great deficit of knowledge about the spread of infectious pathogens through the water, or how pathogen occurrence varies with fish production cycles. Knowledge about pathogen dynamics would be a great asset to sustainable management of the fish farming industry, particulary when ascertained by efficient sampling methodologies for studying the occurrence and distribution of multiple, economically important salmonid pathogens. In this unique collaboration between research and industry sectors, we will conduct a large-scale quantitative investigation of approximately 40 important protist, bacterial and viral fish pathogens across multiple production sites and fallowing zones throughout and entire production cycle. This high-resolution data will allow assessment of the impact of aquaculture production on disease agent occurrence and also the efficacy of fallowing zones for reducing disease transfer between farming areas. We will also conduct a specific investigation into the role of well boats as vectors for disease agent transfer between farming areas, and the efficiency of well boat cleaning routines for reducing the risk of disease transfer. Finally, we will test the utility of a rapid and simplified molecular detection method, a hand-held qPCR instrument, as an on-site early detection tool for improving mitigation of disease spread in farming areas.

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Funding scheme:

HAVBRUK2-Stort program for havbruksforskning