Saving Seafood

Skin cell discovery could help Atlantic salmon fend off sea lice

August 16, 2024 — Scientists at the Institute of Aquaculture are central to a study that could hold the key to improving Atlantic salmon’s resistance to sea lice. The parasites—which feed on the fish’s skin and fins, causing open wounds that can lead to infection—reduce the market value of farmed fish and can have knock-on impacts on wild salmon populations.

Various treatments have been developed to tackle  infestations in Atlantic salmon aquaculture—which costs the industry more than £700m a year—but these are often costly and ineffective. They can also be damaging to the environment and negatively affect animal welfare.

The new study reveals insights into how coho salmon—a cousin of Atlantic salmon—fight off the parasites, and it could pave the way for new genetic approaches. The findings are published in the journal BMC Biology.

Findings show a type of skin cell—known as keratinocyte—plays a key role in triggering localized swelling that helps coho salmon kill and remove sea lice.

Read the full article at phys.org

Entrepreneurs getting creative with seafood byproducts

September 28, 2016 — Global fisheries are missing out on millions of dollars in profits from seafood byproducts – including fish oil, fishmeal and lesser-used parts of the fish such as the skin and intestines.

According to a recent study from the Marine Ingredients Organization (IFFO) and the University of Stirling Institute of Aquaculture (in Stirling, United Kingdom) found that, even though there is increasing availability of raw material from aquaculture byproducts, there is significant underutilization of by-products from both wild fisheries and aquaculture.

Fisheries could also be using their by-products for cosmetics, clothing leather, supplements and other products that are more profitable than fishmeal, Thor Sigfusson, founder of the Iceland Ocean Cluster, told SeafoodSource.

Nearly 20 million tons of raw material is used annually for the production of fishmeal and fish oil globally, according to the model used by the University of Stirling researchers. However, only around 5.7 million tons of by-products are currently processed to produce fishmeal and fish oil. An additional 11.7 million tons produced in processing plants which are currently not collected for marine ingredient production.

“If all fish were processed and all the byproduct collected, it is estimated that globally there would be around 36 million tons of raw material available, producing about 9.5 million tons of fishmeal and 1.5 million tons of fish oil,” according to the University of Stirling/IFFO report.

Read the full story at Seafood Source