Millions in Research Funding for Fish Health at UiB

Associate Professors Aina-Cathrine Øvergård and Anita Rønneseth at the Department of Biological Sciences have recently been awarded grants from the Research Council of Norway. Both study disease and immune responses in farmed fish, and teach in UiB’s fish health programme.

– This is really exciting, and it means a lot for our entire research environment that we’ve received this funding, says Øvergård.

The search for a sea lice vaccine

The salmon louse is a parasitic copepod that lives on salmon in the sea and poses a major challenge for both farmed and wild salmon. The parasite feeds on skin and, later, blood, weakening the fish and sometimes causing severe wounds and death.

Øvergård studies how sea lice affect the salmon’s immune system and is working to develop a vaccine that enables the fish to fight the parasite themselves.

– We are trying to identify the proteins secreted by the lice that suppress the salmon’s immune response. If we can block that mechanism, the salmon can get rid of the lice on its own, she explains.

The project, carried out in collaboration with SINTEF, will use nanotechnology to improve vaccine effectiveness.

– We encapsulate the vaccine in small lipid particles that help the active substance enter the cells. The technology is actually similar to what was used in COVID-19 vaccines, says Øvergård.

She hopes the research will eventually contribute to better fish welfare and lower mortality in aquaculture.

Mapping a dangerous bacterial disease

Anita Rønneseth is studying another threat to fish health — a bacterial disease known as BKD (bacterial kidney disease). The disease has become more prevalent in recent years and can be transmitted from mother to offspring through the egg.

– The bacterium hides inside the cells, almost like a virus, and can remain latent in the fish throughout its life cycle. That makes it difficult to detect and combat, says Rønneseth.

Her project will map how the bacterium affects the salmon’s immune response and investigate how it enters the eggs.

– We will use microinjections in salmon eggs – somewhat similar to IVF in humans, she explains.

Important for sustainability

Rønneseth hopes the results will lead to better methods for detecting and preventing the disease.

Both researchers emphasize that increased handling and rising sea temperatures make fish more vulnerable to both parasites and bacteria.

Ultimately, their research on sea lice and bacterial diseases aims to improve fish welfare and ensure a more sustainable aquaculture industry.

Anita Rønneseth has received about NOK 12 million from the Research Council of Norway for the project Renibacterium salmoninarum: Detecting and preventing vertical transmission in salmon.

Aina-Cathrine Øvergård has received NOK 12 million for the project Nanotechnology to improve mucosal nucleic acid-based vaccine responses against salmon louse.