Sunil Kadri
Aquaculture Innovation

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Will cover innovative approaches, not new means of doing the same old thing
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No vaccines
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No “best thing since SLICE”(d bread)
Sealice Management
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Direct and indirect approaches
Wild-Farmed Interactions
–
Indirect approach

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New hardware technology from
Scotland
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Appears to reduce in parasite loadings in caged salmon: both lice and worms
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Company claims improvements in overall fish health also

Bioemitter Systems in
Sealice Control
•   Four units per cage
•   Large units transmit an electromagnetic field
•   Auxiliary units hold the electromagnetic field within the cage.

Bioemitter Systems in
Sealice Control
Sealice per Fish
7.0
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
.0
0 2 6 9 10 11 12 14 17 20 21 22 23 25 26
Gravids juveniles mobiles

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“Blue-skies” approach to developing a novel method of preventing sealice infection in salmonids
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Based upon the calcium sensing receptor

The Calcium Sensing Receptor (CaSR) Is A
Nutrient Salinity Sensor in Aquatic Organisms.
Amino Acids
Derivatives of Water Salinity
Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , Na + and pH.
Outside
Cell Membrane
Inside
Structure & Function
Intracellular Alterations
Calcium Sensing Receptor (CaSR)
•   Cellular ionic nutrient receptor.
•   Present in most living organisms.
•   Controls and influences fundamental
physiological processes
Confidential

Metamorphosis
Adult
Receptor-mediated
Settlement behaviors
Amino acids, peptides, ions, salinity
Receptor agonists, antagonists, modulators
Conspecific pheremones, biofilm compounds, metals, secondary metabolites
Settlement substrate
Inorganic or Living Surface
Habitat
Selection
Cyprid
Reproduction/ spawning Nauplii
Larval dispersal

The sensing properties of CaRs make them ideally suited to guide larval barnacles by integrating multiple known settlement and attachment cues.
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Tidal Zones and Barnacles
Larval Barnacle Stage
Run-off
Rain Settlement
20-7ppt
Amino Acids and nutrients present
Gradients of water pH
Adult Barnacles
Ca 2+ and Attractant
Ca2+ and
Constant
Seawater
Replenishment
Evaporation
Confidential

Sea Lice and the CaSR
Sea lice are copepod crustaceans and their larval copepodids have only days to find suitable host – depend on environmental cues for targeting host salmon.
• Marked salinity preference for sea lice infestations. Low sal inities do not appear to be desirable or tolerable.
• Abundant CaSR in salmon skin. ? Parasitic – host interactions.
Confidential

220
120
80
Adult Caligus and L. Salmonis Possess CaSR Proteins
Immunoblot of Caligus
Crude Membrane Fraction
L. Salmonis
1
2
3
IMM #2
50
40
Confidential
IMM Pre-IMM

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CaSRs are influenced by naturally occuring compounds such as minerals and amino acids
Presence of CaSRs in both sealice and salmon skin, provides two possibilities:
–
1. A “cue blocker” to prevent settlement, based upon an in-feed additive
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2. A “lice trap” via provision of a very strong settlement cue

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Example: adding a natural yeast cell wall product to animal diet
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Modulates (as opposed to stimulates) immune system
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Increases mucous production in the fish
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Prolongs “zero-lice” period

Functional Nutrients From Yeast
Inner (polymer)
Inner and Outer Cell Wall
Whole yeast
Extract
Outer (manno-proteins)

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Modification of intestinal microorganisms
Pathogen binding & direct elimination from the gut
Improved intestinal morphology & structure
Improved nutrient availability & growth performance
Improved immune response
Improved disease resistance

Marine Harvest Scotland - Identification of sea lice
AF
AF
AM
PA
G
CHALIMUS
CALIGUS AM
Control
(Pen 3)
Average weight of mucous g
Day 2 Day 12 Day 22 Day 35
0.1181 0.392 0.40 0.405
Bio-Mos
(Pen 14)
0.1181 0.4765 0.605 0.827
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
D-2
Mucus development on Salmon @ Arran June / July 2007 through BioMos ( pen 14 )
D+10 D+22 D+33 time pen 3 pen 14
Bio-Mos inclusion 6kg/ton feed
P<0.05

Average
20-Aug-07 Control BioMos
Fertile females
Moving lice
Larvaes
Skotte (Caligus elongatus)
Sum
03-Sep-07
3.5
14.25
5
12
34.75
Fertile females
Moving lice
Larvaes
Skotte (Caligus elongatus)
1
30.75
15
12.5
0.5
22
9.25
8.75
Sum 59.26
40.5
4 control cages and 4 Bio-Mos cages
– Bio-Mos inclusion 4kg/ton feed
0.5
1.75
0.75
15
18
T test
0.08
0.1
0.11
0.14
0.05
0.18
0.18
0.17
0.14
0.04

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Provides high level production performance on all sites
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Allows location of sites in areas which might otherwise be unsuitable for maximising fish performance
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Presently at prototype stage

= Swimming reaction to a moving visual background
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Natural innate mechanism enabling position stabilisation
(e.g. schooling, station holding in fast flows)
Potential to control swimming speed w/o currents
Mechanical research devices

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3-fold increase in swimming speed
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36% increase in SGR
21% improvement in FCR
45% drop in basal stress (cortisol)

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There are alternatives to the pharma approaches
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These provide means for aquaculture sustainability through innovation in pest management and fish health in general