Research aims to improve wrasse vaccination
A team of UK researchers has received funding to find better ways to vaccinate ballan wrasse against bacterial infection.
It is hoped the project could help to grow the use of wrasse as cleaner fish to control sea lice.
The consortium – led by the University of Stirling’s Institute of Aquaculture and the salmon producer Mowi, with support from Otter Ferry Seafish, Ceva Ridgeway Biologicals and the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre – will explore the range of factors that determine the best possible conditions for delivering vaccinations against
Aeromonas salmonicida, a bacterium that can cause potentially fatal outbreaks of disease in cleaner fish.
Ballan wrasse currently receive vaccinations against multiple health conditions at the hatchery stage. However, the group will look at alternative formulations of the vaccine, which could offer greater protection against disease.
The team will also consider the best timing and method of delivering the vaccine – ideally through immersion which can be easier to administer than injections – and assess and compare the way ballan wrasse react to each variable.
Dr Sean Monaghan from the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling said: “Enhancing vaccines for Aeromonas salmonici
da could represent a significant step forward in the use of ballan wrasse in aquaculture. We know that prevention is better than cure and we are, therefore, working towards the development of more effective vaccine formulations and protocols that can be used by hatcheries and producers to improve fish welfare.”