Tackling the challenge of spinal disorders in intensively farmed fish, a team of four Norwegian and Chilean scientists found that water temperatures above 16 degrees C can cause skeletal deformities in young salmon.
Working through the EU Fine Fish project, the scientists set out to shed light on the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in bone deformities in farmed fish. They studied two groups of juvenile salmon — one reared at a lower and one at a higher temperature.
The study’s co-author, Dr. Harald Takle of the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and AVS Chile, said the results “strongly indicate that temperature-induced fast growth is severely affecting gene transcription … leading to a change in the tissue structure and composition.”
Spinal disorders, which can occur in intensively farmed fish, pose both a health and productivity challenge for fish farmers of all sizes. The scientists investigated the bone metabolism and pathogenesis of vertebral fusions in Atlantic salmon. They reared 400 juvenile salmon in water at a temperature of 10 degrees C and another 400 juvenile salmon at 16 degrees C.
“Salmon farmers often use warmer water to increase fish growth rates,” said the researchers. “The study showed that bone and cartilage production was disrupted when temperatures were elevated.”
The disruptions resulted in an increased rate of deformities for the 16 degree C group. While this group of fish grew faster, 28 percent was found to show some signs of skeletal deformity, compared to 8 percent of the fish in the 10 degree C group.
The EUR 3 million Fine Fish study aims to help the aquaculture industry farm healthier fish. According to the Federation of European Aquaculture Producers, within Europe produces more than 1.6 million metric tons of farmed fish annually.
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