Industry collaboration looks to develop Tenacibaculum vaccines for salmon

Research Council of Norway issues grant to Benchmark Animal Health and Cermaq to tackle tenacibaculosis and mouth rot

Benchmark Animal Health and Cermaq are collaborating on the development of novel vaccines for the Tenacibaculum bacteria, thanks to a NOK 4.2 million (U.S. $478,000) grant from the Research Council of Norway.

The vaccines would help to combat mouth rot and tenacibaculosis, which represent a major issue for the health and welfare of farmed Atlantic salmon in Norway and Canada, according to Cermaq. Mouthrot and tenacibaculosis can each lead to the need for antibiotic treatments, low product quality at harvest and even increased mortality.

The partnership couples the biotechnology and fish health expertise of Benchmark with industry leader Cermaq’s research on Tenacibaculum bacteria.

“Preventive fish health is always the best option, and Cermaq invests much in preventive fish health in our dedicated fish health research team and through implementation in our operations,” said Olai Einen, global head of feed and fish health research at Cermaq. “This joint project with Benchmark Animal Health is a great opportunity to succeed in developing an effective vaccine against the Tenacibaculum bacteria, and hence important for salmon farming.”

The Benchmark-Cermaq vaccine research is one of 11 projects within aquaculture, fisheries and green shipping to receive funding in 2021, totaling NOK 68 million (U.S. $7.7 million) over three years.

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