Grant: Strategic Projects - Group

Gyrodactylosis is a skin and gill disease of fish caused by small-bodied ectoparasitic worms. Preliminary research by the applicants indicates there is a rich, but poorly understood, species pool of these parasites on wild gadoid fishes (cod, haddock, pollock, and hake) in the North Atlantic. Outbreaks of gyrodactylosis have occurred in cage operations growing cod in Norwegian waters, with methods to treat stocks held in sea cages being developed. It is totally predictable, that the emergence of gyrodactylosis of cod in the North Atlantic Ocean will follow a similar pattern to that of sea lice, a serious problem wherever Atlantic salmon are being grown under aquaculture conditions. The sea lice problem first became established in Norway and, as Atlantic salmon aquaculture developed elsewhere, the same problem appeared in Scotland, Ireland, eastern Canada, and most recently in western Canada. The present research proposal will provide information about the genetic variation of the parasites on cod stocks and the susceptibility of families of cod developed by the cod genome project. In addition, we will assess experimentally the effect of infection on growth and survival of captive young cod, the nature of their innate resistance, as well as the assessment of environmentally friendly bath treatments for the disease.