Moredun Scientific is using experimental models of infectious and non-infectious gill disease to support several research and commercial projects that are aimed at better understanding and controlling gill disease in Atlantic salmon. The tonnage of salmon produced in Scotland now exceeds that for Scottish beef and lamb. Farmed salmon is recognised as a healthy and high quality food and is Scotland’s leading food export, however the industry suffers relatively high losses compared with most forms of terrestrial livestock production and these impact on fish welfare, public perception of the industry and the profitability of farming operations.
The gills of Atlantic salmon play a key role in physiological processes including oxygen uptake, carbon dioxide and ammonia excretion and regulation of pH, sodium and chloride salts and water balance. Their structure enables efficient transfer between blood and water environment, but the gills are potentially exposed to physical, chemical and biological, environmental insults which can impair gill function, and sometimes impact heavily on fish health and welfare and biological and economic performance. The term Complex Gill Disease (CGD) describes a range of gross and microstructural changes which may be associated with a range of causes. Case studies have demonstrated gill disease associated with several species of jellyfish, phytoplankton, the amoeba, Neoparamoeba perurans, bacteria, including Tenacibaculum spp. and (Candidatus) Brachiomonas cysticola, the microsporidian, Desmozoon lepeptherii, Salmon Gill Pox Virus, Atlantic salmon Paramyxovirus, and others.
Research projects include the EU funded, ‘NeoGIANT’ project , which aims to evaluate novel antimicrobial products, derived from grape marc, for the control of Amoebic Gill Disease. and the ‘Zooplankton Challenge’ project, a collaboration with Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC), funded by the UK Seafood Innovation Fund and supported by others such as the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC), to develop a cnidarian jellyfish model to understand host-pathogen responses for diagnostic tests and mitigation measures.