CSAR Lumpfish research

Parasitic sea-lice are the biggest threat facing sustainable salmon production in the world with an annual cost to industry of £500 mill. Using lumpfish as cleaner fish offers an attractive alternative to the use of chemicals or medicines. Research on lumpfish at the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR) - Swansea University, started in 2014. Following this, an R&D collaboration project was developed with MOWI (previously Marine Harvest Scotland) (c.£1.2 M) to develop this novel species as a solution to the sea-lice problem facing the industry. With a developing network throughout the North Atlantic, a new four year WEFO project (SMARTAQUA, c £1.2M), and three new UK research and development collaborations started in 2018 (c £1.4M), CSAR are playing an increasingly major role in Lumpfish research and industry development at both a UK and international level.

The lumpfish project continues to provide ample opportunities for enhancing the student experience and to date we have had: three funded postgraduate scholarships (2 PhD, 2 MRes), over 20 UG and PGR student projects have been developed, 3 ERASMUS exchange programs, 6 intern placements and over 70 undergrad students have worked for up to 6 weeks in CSAR learning aspects of lumpfish husbandry and writing a practical report on nutrition and welfare.

A multi-country collaboration with the largest UK cleaner fish supplier (Cleaner Fish Company Ltd.), the largest lumpfish producer in the UK (Ocean Matters Ltd), the largest producer of Scottish sourced lumpfish in the UK (Three-sixty Aquaculture) and one of the largest salmon producers (The Scottish Salmon Company), allowed CSAR to develop novel UK disease screened lumpfish for the salmon industry.

As lumpfish are a new species to aquaculture, there is a significant lack of standardisation when it comes to husbandry practices.  Sourcing protocols can be difficult and many are shared between facilities.  Below are the individual Standard Operating Procedures developed at CSAR for working with lumpfish. All SOPs can also be downloaded. 

1. Sampling for pathogen screening in the lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus)
   This SOP guides the user on the best practice methods for pre-screening male lumpfish and the post-screening of female lumpfish

   2. Lumpfish larvae transport
   This SOP provides the guidelines for the safe transport of lumpfish larvae within bags and insulated boxes.

   3. Reception and Traceability of Lumpfish Broodstock
   This SOP guides the user on the best practice methods for receiving lumpfish into a quarantine facility and ensuring traceability broodstock during the season.

   4. Lumpfish Milt Extraction and Storage
   This SOP guides the user on the best practice methods for extracting and storing lumpfish milt.

   5. Lumpfish stripping and egg fertilisation
   This SOP guides the user on selecting broodstock, harvesting eggs and milt, and best practices for the successful fertilisation of eggs.

   6. Treatment of Lumpfish Eggs with Buffodine®
   This SOP guides the user on the best practice methods treating lumpfish eggs with Buffodine® and transferring them into RAS B.

   7. PIT Tagging of Lumpfish
   This SOP guides the user on the best practice methods for PIT tagging lumpfish.

   8. Lumpfish Vaccination
   This SOP guides the user on the best practice method for vaccinating lumpfish.

   9. Lumpfish weaning
   This SOP describes the protocol used in CSAR for lumpfish weaning which is more prolonged than other examples from industry but it can decrease mortality over the weaning period.

If you would like more information regarding these SOPs please contact Paul Howes.

SCIENTIFIC PAPERS PUBLISHED IN PEER REVIEW JOURNALS

1. Naung M, Uren Webster TM, LloyMyo Naung, Tamsyn M. Uren Webster, Richard Lloyd, Carlos Garcia de Leaniz, Sofia Consuegra. 2021. A novel qPCR assay for the rapid detection and quantification of the lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) microsporidian parasite Nucleospora cyclopteri, Aquaculture, Volume 531,2021, 735779,
   ISSN 0044-8486, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.735779
2. Gutierrez-Rabadan, C., Spreadbury C., Consuegra, S. & Garcia de Leaniz, C. 2021. Development and validation of an Operational Welfare Score Index for farmed lumpfish Cyclopterus lumpus L. Aquaculture 531, 2021, 735777, ISSN 0044-8486, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2020.735777.
3. Lloyd, R. & Garcia de Leaniz, C. (2020) The use of laparoscopy for coelomic organ evaluation, biopsy and disease screening in broodstock Atlantic lumpfish, Cyclopterus lumpus Linnaeus. Journal of Fish Diseases 43, 9, 1107-1110 https://doi.org/10.1111/jfd.13218
4. Powell A, Treasurer JW, Pooley CL, Keay AJ, Lloyd R, Imsland AK and Garcia de Leaniz C. 2018. Use of lumpfish for sea-lice control in salmon farming: challenges and opportunities. Reviews in Aquaculture 10, 683–702 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/raq.12194
5. Whittaker BA, Consuegra S, Garcia de Leaniz C. 2018. Genetic and phenotypic differentiation of lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) across the North Atlantic: implications for conservation and aquaculture. PeerJ 6:e5974 http://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.5974
6. Pooley, C.L., Berwick, M.G., Garcia de Leaniz, C., (2019). Chemical degumming increases larvae size and facilitates the commercial production of Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) eggs. bioRxiv; https://doi.org/10.1101/583641
7. Brooker, A.J., Papadopoulou, A., Gutierrez, C., Rey, S., Davie, A., Migaud, H., (2018). Sustainable production and use of cleaner fish for the biological control of sea lice: recent advances and current challenges. Veterinary Record 183, 383. doi: 10.1136/vr.104966

BOOK CHAPTERS

1. Powell A, Pooley C, Scolamacchia M, Garcia de Leaniz C. (2018b). Review of lumpfish biology In: Treasurer JW, editor. Cleaner Fish Biology and Aquaculture Applications. Sheffield: 5M Publishing Ltd.; pp. 98-121.
2. Treasurer J, Prickett R, Zietz M, Hempleman C, Garcia de Leaniz C. (2018). Cleaner fish rearing and deployment in the UK. In: Treasurer JW, editor. Cleaner Fish Biology and Aquaculture Applications. Sheffield: 5M Publishing Ltd.;  pp. 376-91.

• MOWI
• Ocean Matters
• The Cleaner Fish Company
• The Scottish Salmon Company
• 360 aquaculture
• Biomar
• 5M Books
• RSPCA Assured
• RSPCA
• AWRN: Animal Welfare Research Network
• UFAW: Universities Federation for Animal Welfare
• ARCH-UK: Aquaculture Research Collaborative Hub