Skin Health 2.0

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

Fish skin, as well as the gills and gut, are the first barrier against opportunistic and obligated pathogens in the aquatic environment. The fast recovery of the integrity of these barriers after injury is of great importance to maintain osmotic regulation and therefore health and welfare of fish. Moreover, wounds are often considered potential entry sites for fish pathogens and can also reduce slaughter quality. Currently, sea lice is one of the main skin challenges in salmonid production causing important costs for the salmon industry. Despite the efforts made by the feeding producing companies, the available functional feedings in the market do not satisfy completely the challenges regarding skin health. In this context, the present project aimed to improved functional diets containing health additives that could improve wound healing in Atlantic salmon using a sea lice model as wound challenge model. It is expected that the new knowledge obtained from this project help in the development of improved diets designed specifically for maintaining and/or restoring skin health in fish.