Northern aquaculture; modern vaccine- and gene technology giving health and welfare to the fish and well-being to the farmer Paul J. Midtlyng School of Veterinary Medicine Norwegian University of Life Sciences Oslo, Norway
Northern salmonid mariculture Country Tons (2014) harvest weight Norway 1 341 000 Faroe Islands 70 893 Scotland 169 210 Canada 120 000 EU-27 628 230 (2007) Büsum 11 juni 2015 2
Norway aquaculture in comparison Annual meat production 1000 tons Salmonid aquaculture, Norway 1341 Finfish aquaculture EU-27 (2007)* 628 Sheeps +goats, EU-28 * 808 Beef, Germany* 1128 Pork, Denmark* 1587 2014 Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries ; Eurostat *
Producer prices in comparison Meat type Atlantic salmon Beef, Germany (young bulls) Pork, Germany 2015 so far 4,0-4,8 Euro/kg 3,7-4,0 Euro/kg 1,3-1,5 Euro/kg Büsum 11 juni 2015 4
Comparative sales of antibacterial drugs in Norway 2014 Kg active substance Proportion Aquaculture ca. 1590 1% Terrestrial animals ca 5300 14% Humans ca. 44 200 85% Source: Norm/Norm-Vet 2014 report and Prof K. Grave, pers. comm. Büsum 11. juni 2015 5
Vaccination stopped antibiotic use Salmon production ( 000 mt) Usage of Antibiotics (mt) 60 1 1,000 900 40 2 3 New vaccine formulations 800 700 600 500 20 4 400 300 200 100 0 1991 1996 2001 2006 2010 0 6
The breakthrough of fish vaccination 1991-1993 Multivalent, oil adjuvanted vaccine technology highly effective against bacterial diseases, even against furunculosis long-lasting immunity (through harvest) Year # smolts # doses coverage 1991 40 mill 17,5 mill 43% 1992 60 mill 30,5 mill 51% 1993 60 mill 53,5 mill 90% Büsum 11 Juni 2015 7
It did not happen by itself 3% R&D levy on sales accepted for 3 years by the veterinary pharmaceutical industry (voluntarily.?) Large-scale field trial with vaccines under development (prototypes) accepted by the Norwegian Medicines Agency Scientifically convincing results obtained Propaganda campaign stop furunculosis was financed by the Salmon Farmer s marketing co-operative Büsum 11 Juni 2015 8
We could have given up, but didn t Salmon production ( 000 mt) Usage of Antibiotics (mt) 60 40 1 2 3 Innovative spirits, innovative efforts 1,000 900 800 700 600 500 20 4 400 300 200 100 0 1991 1996 2001 2006 2010 0 9
Viral diseases a different story IPN -vaccine 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 10 11 12 13 1200000 1000000 800000 600000 400000 200000 0 Production (tonnes Source: AquaGen AS; based on data from National Veterinary Institute / FHL
Breeding for disease resistance A high priority in current Atlantic salmon breeding programs selection for resistance to bacterial infections since 1995 (5 generations) up to 60% of the basis for selection in AquaGen production stocks of certain years * Selection for resistance to IPN virus included since 2002 * A. Storset, pers. comm. Büsum 11 Juni 2015 11
From fenotype- to genotype based selection Fenotype Genotype
Genomic markers Salmon Louse resistance gene???? PD resistance Gene (?) Q: IPN resistance gene Markers plots on the genomic map
Q q Q Q Q q Q Q Q q q q Super-resistant offspring
Selection based on genomic marker resolved the problem IPN QTL 220 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 '00 '01 '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 '07 '08 '09 10 11 12 13 1200000 1000000 800000 600000 400000 200000 0 Production (tonnes Source: AquaGen AS; based on data from National Veterinary Institute / FHL
Other viral infections remain a challenge 200 180 160 140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 HSMI CMS PD ISA Büsum 11 Juni 2015 16
(Naked) DNA virus vaccines A mobile genetic element (plasmid) makes target cells produce a specific protein (antigen) A plasmid is not a complete organism (bacterium or virus), conventional vaccines are Cannot live or replicate on itw own (outside the target cell) Protein (antigen) production stops when the host cell dies Büsum 11 Juni 2015
DNA (plasmid) veterinary vaccines Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis virus vaccine for salmon (Novartis Animal Health, now Elanco Canada) Licensed in 2005 Büsum 11 Juni 2015 West Nile virus vaccine for horses (Fort Dodge, USA) Licensed in 2005 Canine Oral Melanoma gene therapy vaccine (Merial, USA) Licensed in 2010
Vaccines against novirhabdovirus diseases in salmonids (Egtvedt disease, IHN) Scientific documentation showing high and long-lasting vaccine protection Extensive research in Aarhus (DK) and Seattle (USA) A DNA vaccine for salmon was launched in B, Canada in 2005 Intramuscular injection 100 million fish vaccinated to date No reported adverse effect No reported clinical outbreaks in vaccinated fish 19 Büsum 11 Juni 2015
Genetic fingerprinting for identification of escapees Gene profile of both parents 100% correct parentage + database of distribution of eggs through the farming chain = verification or falsificaiton of putative escapees Büsum 11 Juni 2015 20
45 mill Green track salmon eggs delivered in 2014-15 Total amount used in Norway: 360-380 mill eyed eggs Büsum 11 Juni 2015 21
Conclusions 1) If you want people to eat more (aquaculture) fish, look for innovative solutions! Focus on blocking hurdles tend to kill rather than to support. 2) Without mass vaccination, aquaculture is neither profitable nor sustainable in the long run! 3) Modern gene technology does not equal genetic modification! And can support all kinds of aquaculture operations (ECO as well as conventional). Büsum 11 Juni 2015 22
Acknowledgements Organisers for inviting me to give this talk Aqua Gen AS for providing slides and illustrations Scottish Aquaculture 21-22/4-09 23