Cleaner Fish Research in BC. Dr. Shannon Balfry CAER OpenHouse June 10, 2017

Transcription

1 Cleaner Fish Research in BC Dr. Shannon Balfry CAER OpenHouse June 10, 2017

2 Cleaner Fish

3 Cleaner fish in BC? Surfperches (Family Embiotocidae) Kelp perch, Brachyistius frenatus Pile perch, Rhacochilus vacca White seaperch, Phanerodon furcatus Painted greenling, Oxylebius pictus Tubesnout, Aulorhynchus flavidus Levitan, CW (1991) A review of the biology of some fish species with potential to act as cleaner fish in salmon farming to control sea lice. BCARDC Report

4 Focus on 2 species of perch Pile perch, Rhacochilus vacca Kelp perch, Brachyistius frenatus

5 Introduction to using cleaner fish in Norway

6 Background: Cleaner Fish use in Norway Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)

7 Lumpfish commercial hatcheries

8 Ballan wrasse commercial hatcheries

9 Deployment of cleaner fish at salmon farms Cleaner fish need hides Fake kelp

10 Lumpfish deployment Thick plastic strips

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13 FOUR MAIN RESEARCH WORKPACKAGES 1. DEPLOYMENT 2. NUTRITION & FEEDING SYSTEMS 3. REPRODUCTION & BREEDING 4. HEALTH & DISEASE

14 YEAR ONE Deployment Research Objectives Determine if: 1. Pile and kelp perch will clean sea lice off infested Atlantic salmon 2. Cleaning activity is different between kelp and pile perch 3. Cleaning activity is different between large and small, kelp & pile perch 4. Perch have cleaning preferences (life history stage, proximity to hide, location on salmon)

15 Step One sea lice culture Collect egg strings Setup sea lice cultures

16 Step One sea lice culture Estimated total copepodids per culture Culture 1 Culture 2 Culture 3 Culture 4 Culture 5 Culture 6 Target Sample cultures daily Infect salmon with target # copepodites

17 Step Two - Collecting wild perch Beach Seining

18 Jigging Netting

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20 Perch Sourced from wild Bred at Vanaqua Fed krill in mesh bags

21 Cohabitation trials: Infected salmon + perch

22 Cohabitation trials Infect salmon, ~ one month later initiate trial Count lice on salmon, place into cohab tanks with perch Turn on gopros to video ~2 hrs at end of day At termination, euthanize perch & salmon to examine for injury and external lice numbers Strain cohab tank water and examine outflow mesh for lice

23 Tracking sea lice during cohabitation by siphoning tank water and screens Digested = clear Drop offs = dark

24 YEAR ONE Research Objective #1 Determine if: Pile and kelp perch will clean sea lice off infested Atlantic salmon YES, both species clean

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26 Perch culture

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28 YEAR ONE Research Objective #2 Determine if: Cleaning activity is different between kelp and pile perch? Species differences not clear due to individual variation in cleaning activity

29 Trials with 1 salmon and 2-3 perch Percent of Lice on salmon after 48 hours cohabitation Trial Control Kelp Pile #4 95% 70% 60% #6 87% 44% 20% * Source of variation ~due to individual variation in cleaning activity of perch

30 YEAR ONE Research Objective #3 Determine if: Cleaning activity is different between large and small, kelp & pile perch Smaller fish of both species appear to be more efficient cleaners

31 Small vs Large Perch Percent of Lice on salmon after 48 hours cohabitation Trial Control Small Large Pile #7 86% 0% 11% Kelp #10 85% 18% 63%

32 YEAR ONE Research Objective #4 Determine if: Perch have cleaning preferences (life history stage, proximity to hide, location on salmon) Observations suggest: Perch prefer most visible, large lice Perch don t hesitate to leave hide to check out salmon and clean Salmon don t like perch approaching head/eye area

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34 YEAR TWO - Deployment Research Perch infection trials Perch size vs net pen mesh size Cleaning at different stocking rates with small (200g) and large (1 kg) salmon Effect of temperature on cleaning activity

35 Trough KELP Perch Deployment Trials 40 salmon (infected with a total of 370 lice) + 4 kelp perch (@ 12C) 10 days later, 6 lice on 2 salmon =98% 25 salmon (infected with a total of 147 lice) + 3 kelp perch (@ 8C) 8 days later, 15 lice on 10 salmon =90%

36 Perch Size Requirements for Stocking in Net Pens DEPLOYMENT RESEARCH

37 FOUR MAIN RESEARCH WORKPACKAGES 1. DEPLOYMENT 2. NUTRITION & FEEDING SYSTEMS 3. REPRODUCTION & BREEDING 4. HEALTH & DISEASE

38 NUTRITION AND FEEDING SYSTEMS Funding approved Develop diets for optimal growth performance for all life history stages Develop appropriate feed formulations and systems for net pen trials

39 REPRODUCTION AND BREEDING Opportunistic research to date Captive and wild broodstock reproducing in the lab to be used for feeding trials Goal is to develop first feeding diets for newborns, through to adults deployed and those retained as broodstock Develop growth models for captive reared perch and timelines for deployment onto salmon farms

40 HEALTH AND DISEASE Development of a health management plan for perch Funding being sought for disease screening of perch Disease/health concerns addressed as they occur

41 Acknowledgements

42 Questions?