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Improving Atlantic salmon smolt robustness to reduce losses in sea by development of screening tests, exercise regimes and markers

Despite steady improvements in the efficiency of Atlantic salmon aquaculture production during the last century, endemic and emerging infectious diseases and reduced survival of smolt following seawater transfer is currently hampering further growth. Impr oved robustness in farmed salmon was recently demonstrated in the FitnessFish project (RCN: 190067), where optimized aerobic exercise training was shown for the first time to significantly benefit health and disease resistance traits. Furthermore, it was demonstrated that inherent swimming endurance capacity was associated with improved fitness. Building on these results, this project aims to further explore different robustness characteristics in juvenile Atlantic salmon and their associations to health and disease resistance during early and later life stages. Specifically, this project will: 1) explore the potential of using early life traits, time of emergence (swim-up) and swimming endurance capacity, as novel screening tests for smolt robustness, 2) evaluate the impact of swimming exercise regimes in juvenile salmon in order to establish optimal exercise protocols for improving inherent robustness traits of salmon during the freshwater production cycle, and 3) exploit life history differences of cul tured and wild salmon strains related to cardiophysiological health to identify genes, polymorphisms and functional variations that could potentially be used as markers for improving robustness through marker-assisted or genomic selection. The results fro m this project will provide knowledge and tools for improving the key underlying factors affecting robustness of smolt, and as a result will lead to substantial improvements in welfare, sustainability and cost-efficiency of salmon aquaculture production. The project will strengthen national and international aquaculture sciences and collaborations through interdisciplinary research merging classical fish physiology with exploitation of the salmon genome resources.

Prosjektleder:
Harald Takle
Institusjon:
 
Aktivitetsnavn:
Havbruk - en næring i vekst
Prosjektstatus:
Bevilgning
Prosjektperiode:
01.02.2013 - 31.01.2016
Geografi:
Norge/AKERSHUS/ÅS
Fagområder:
Landbruks- og fiskerifag/Fiskerifag/Akvakultur
Prosjektnummer:
225219