Aquaculture wins £5.1m research funding

FISH vaccines made from algae are one of 12 projects receiving a total of £5.1 million to fund aquaculture research.

Other projects, announced in November, include studying genetics and breeding patterns, looking at how shellfish can be more sustainable, immunising trout against kidney disease, and examining how robust salmon are and how susceptible to disease they are at sea.

The UK Aquaculture Initiative is a joint Biotechnology & Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and NERC project to support high quality, innovative research and address strategic challenges facing UK aquaculture.

The investment comes with contributions from co-funders the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute (AFBI) and the Centre for Environments, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), and a range of industry partners who will collaborate with academic researchers.

Karen Lewis, BBSRC executive director of Capability and Innovation, said: ‘Aquaculture is a key food production sector for the UK. These projects will improve our understanding of the challenges facing aquaculture production.

‘Working together with industry partners, UK researchers will help to address these challenges and contribute to developing a healthy, safe and sustainable aquaculture system which will deliver societal and economic benefit for the UK.’