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In the Press: Project CrispResist
Assoc. Professor Nick Robinson has recently been in the press for a project (CrispResist - for more details, click here) investigating what it is about the genes of various species of Pacific salmon that makes them more resistant to salmon lice compared to Atlantic salmon. Together with researchers from the University of Bergen and Nofima, Nick will then apply this …
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The importance of macroalgal ecosystems in tropical reef fisheries
In tropical marine ecosystems, macroalgal reefs provide an important habitat for a range of fish species, which includes species targeted by fisheries. Dr Luke Barrett recently contributed to a study led by Dr Shaun Wilson to understand how macroalgal habitats can contribute to small-scale reef fisheries. The authors found that across 133 small-scale fisheries, macroalgal-associated fish species comprised 24% of …
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Putting a dollar value on the ecosystem services provided by extractive aquaculture
Culturing seaweed and bivalves (mussels and oysters) provide a range of services that can benefit coastal and marine ecosystems. While the ecosystem services, which include bioremediation, coastal defence, and habitat provision for fish, have been studied extensively, the dollar-value of these services has not yet been calculated. With this in mind, Dr Luke Barrett along with collaborators from both Australia …
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Applying genomic selection to improve barramundi aquaculture
The Victorian-based company Mainstream Aquaculture is using the latest genomic technology advances to produce and supply super-fast growing barramundi to the world. Barramundi, also known as Asian sea bass, is rapidly growing in popularity and production around the world. The University of Melbourne, James Cook University and Nofima (Norwegian Institute of Aquaculture) have collaborated to apply this technology to Mainstream …
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Big Science Pitch winners in the SALTT lab
Fletcher Warren-Myers and Luke Barrett of the SALTT lab competed in the University's inaugural Big Science Pitch on October 28. Luke pitched a project on growing seaweeds in the wastewater of abalone farms to create a source of agar for biomedical use while Fletcher pitched a commercial-scale trial of abalone aquaculture to create a new industry for southern Australia that could …
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In the Press: lice larvae love surface waters
Another one of our previous Masters’ students Aylah Szetey has had some press on the research she did as part of her Masters. Aylah investigated how light influences the distribution of the two planktonic larval stages of salmon lice within the water column. Surprisingly, she found that the two larval stages had different preferences, with higher light intensity increasing the …
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In the Press: lice larvae temperature and salinity preferences
One of our past Masters student Tom Crosbie's research has been getting some recent press! As part of his Masters, Tom looked at how salmon lice larvae responded to different temperatures and salinities. His results have really important implications both for the Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry and also management, as his results were immediately plugged into models to try and …
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In the Press: Investigating and improving cleaner fish efficacy in farms
As part of her Masters, Kat Gentry's project looked at two things: if cleaner fish (multiple species of wrasse, lumpfish) efficacy was affected when used in combination with different sea lice prevention technologies, and if acclimating cleaner fish together with salmon could help improve their delousing capacity when they are eventually deployed in sea cages. Both of here papers have …
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In the Press: Efficacy of cleaner fish as biological control agents
Tens of millions of cleaner fish (multiple species of wrasse and lumpfish) are stocked by Norwegian salmon farmers each year to biologically control the industry's most pesky parasite: salmon lice. It is one of the only farm management practices we are aware of where a vertebrate is used to control a pest of the other vertebrate. Their use in farms …
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In the Press: Prevention, not cure
Managing sea lice, one of the worst parasites in salmon aquaculture, is stressful for both salmon and salmon farmers. In a new article titled Prevention not cure: a review of methods to avoid sea lice infestations in salmon aquaculture, we argue that methods to prevent sea louse infestations have some key advantages over treatments, and identify the most promising preventative …
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In the Press: Restorative aquaculture
A recent paper that Dr Luke Barrett's co-authored has recently received some press in the New York Times, National Geographic, and also on The Fish Site! Together with researchers from The Nature Conservancy, the University of Adelaide, and the University of New England, Luke conducted a systematic literature review of studies that looked at habitat-related interactions associated with bivalve and …
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In the Press: Gene editing to improve aquaculture
Dr Nick Robinson's work using CRISP-R 'gene editing' (which won its inventors Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2020) and the more traditional selective breeding have been getting some press lately! Nick is solving some of the most difficult disease problems in marine aquaculture through genetics and genomics research. A recent Pursuit article, as well as …
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In the Press: Luke and Andrew interviewed for recent publications
Dr Luke Barrett and PhD student Andrew Coates from UoM both published papers on marine parasites in a recent special issue of the International Journal of Parasitology. In the YouTube link below, they are interviewed by the editor of the special issue, Prof. Barbara Nowak, as she digs into their key findings. Click here to watch the interview on YouTube. Luke's …
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In the Press: our latest grant, and your chance to join SALTT!
We've received some press on our most recently acquired grant the Green Platform project on Kyst.no. We are one of 18 aquaculture companies, supplier companies and research institutes forming a consortium to try and improve the sustainability of the Norwegian Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry. As part of this project, we're offering the chance for a PhD student to develop knowledge …
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In the Press: Nick on the ABC
Nick Robinson was recently interviewed about all things related to aquaculture on ABC radio. Listen in for a fascinating and far-ranging discussion here.
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PhD position available
The future of aquaculture: how will fish cope with an offshore life? A terrific new opportunity for a budding marine researcher in the field of sustainable aquaculture. A PhD project (with $40000 per year scholarship) is available to investigate the behaviour and welfare of farmed salmon in offshore and exposed locations. The project is a collaboration between the Sustainable Aquaculture Lab at …
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The secret lives of farmed fish
In this entertaining Pursuit article, SALTT lab PhD student Georgia Macaulay discusses a new study that found that monitoring the behaviour of farmed fish using tags can provide scientists with important information – but it can also create welfare issues.
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Inadequate scientific evidence of the effect of cleaner fish at full commercial scale
Many millions of cleaner fish are put into farm cages to eat salmon lice off salmon, but there is limited research into how efficiently they do this job. Our lab, working with the Institute of Marine Research, Norway, has gone through all published studies in the field - and found large knowledge gaps. Lumpfish and several species of wrasse are widely …
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Cleaning up our wastewater with freshwater algae
Wastewater from treated sewage and urban and industrial run-off has a significant environmental impact on the biological integrity of our coastal marine ecosystems. The best way to manage wastewater is before it enters marine ecosystems, by reducing both contaminant and nutrient inputs. Algal bioremediation can significantly improve the quality of wastewater by removing nutrients. However, before algal bioremediation can be …
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In the Press: UV light could be used in fight against sea lice
Our most recent article is gathering some attention! Click here to read the article.
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Zapping lice eggs to reduce infestation pressure
In all farming systems, both researchers and farmers are always trying to find new ways to control and manage pest populations. Sea lice infestations in Atlantic salmon farms are a huge issue, causing considerable welfare problems to farmed and wild salmon. Therefore, interest in developing new methods that prevent lice infestations from occurring in the first place is gaining momentum …
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In the press: Avoiding lice infestations by paying attention to connectivity
Research conducted by Assoc. Prof. Tim Dempster and SALTT lab alumni Dr Francisca Samsing has recently been picked up by the press. Click here to read the full article (Google translate might come in handy!).
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In the press: Scientists attempt to get the jump on lice
Our recent article 'Jumping to treat sea lice: Harnessing salmon behaviour to enable surface-based chemotherapeutant application' has received a bit of press! Click here to read it.
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Wakame in Port Phillip Bay is not all bad
Introduced species always seem to get a bad rap – they can outcompete native species, or allow other introduced species to prosper, which can ultimately reduce native biodiversity. In coastal environments around the world, native seaweed populations have declined, with a range of non-native species taking over. With urchin barrens growing throughout Port Phillip Bay, there is less available habitat …