Ballan wrasse () are commonly used as cleaner fish in salmon farms as a biological treatment to mitigate sea lice infestation. Improved welfare for cleaner fish both during production of these fish and when in sea-cages with salmon is crucial for the industry's development. A common operational procedure in ballan wrasse production is transporting juveniles from one land-based farm to another for further on-growing. Episodes of increased mortality have been reported after such transportations. In this study, the relationship between transport stress and post-transport mortality at the on-growing facility was examined. It was also investigated if light sedation with AQUI-S can mitigate stress during transport. Stress was quantified by measuring cortisol release rate to the tank water during transport. This was investigated in 10 commercial live carrier truck transports (6 without AQUI-S sedation and 4 with sedation during loading and transport). The total time of transport varied between 12 and 21 h. In general, mortality was significantly higher (1.0 ± 0.6% day) the first five days post-transport compared to 15-20 days post transport (0.5% day). There was also a strong relationship between fish weight at transport and post-transport mortality, where higher mean weight at transport reduced mortality. In contrast to what was expected, AQUI-S treatment during transport procedures increased cortisol excretion rate, suggesting a stimulating effect of AQUI-S on the stress axis in ballan wrasse. Considering these results, the value of using AQUI-S to reduce stress during transport of juvenile ballan wrasse might be questioned. However, there was no relationship between cortisol release rate during transport and post-transport mortality. Furthermore, this study emphasizes that water cortisol measurements can be used as a none-invasive tool for monitoring stress and can be integrated into the welfare evaluation during commercial fish transports.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1347062 | DOI Listing |
BMC Mol Cell Biol
December 2024
Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences, Queen's University, Botterell Hall, 18 Stuart Street, Kingston, K7L 3N6, Canada.
Alanine-rich, alpha-helical type I antifreeze proteins (AFPs) in fishes are thought to have arisen independently in the last 30 Ma on at least four occasions. This hypothesis has recently been proven for flounder and sculpin AFPs, which both originated by gene duplication and divergence followed by substantial gene copy number expansion. Here, we examined the origins of the cunner (wrasse) and snailfish (liparid) AFPs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Fish Biol
October 2024
Ecosystem Acoustics Group, Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen Research Station, His, Norway.
Ballan wrasse Labrus bergylta is the largest species of wrasse inhabiting European waters and one of the longest-living species within the family Labridae. A large specimen was caught off the coast of Skjerjehamn, western Norway (total length = 410 mm; weight = 1274 g). The age of the specimen was determined to be 34 years old based on the analysis of its opercula bones.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFish Shellfish Immunol
June 2024
Fish Health group, Department of Biological sciences, University of Bergen, Norway.
Fish rely on mucosal surfaces as their first defence barrier against pathogens. Maintaining mucosal homeostasis is therefore crucial for their overall well-being, and it is likely that secreted immunoglobulins (sIg) play a pivotal role in sustaining this balance. In mammals, the poly-Ig receptor (pIgR) is an essential component responsible for transporting polymeric Igs across mucosal epithelia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Fish Biol
May 2024
Nofima Marin AS, Sunndalsøra, Norway.
Sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis [Krøyer, 1838]) are a key issue for salmon aquaculture, contributing to increased mortality for both wild and farmed salmon if no action is taken. Using cleaner fish can be an effective, drug-free treatment method, and ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta) is a hardy wrasse species that displays cleaning behavior. With concerns about the overharvest of wild ballan wrasse, many companies farm this species, but the optimal ranges of a wide variety of rearing parameters are still unknown.
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