ISI magazine Aquaculture recently published an article by Rannveiga Björnsdóttir, director of aquaculture and lecturer at the University of Akureyri. Four experts at Matís are co-authors of the article entitled "Survival and quality of halibut larvae (Hippoglossus hippoglossus L.) in intensive farming: possible impact of the intestinal bacterial community".
The article discusses the number and composition of the bacterial flora of halibut larvae related to the growth, quality and decline of larvae in the early stages of rearing. Halibut is a high quality fish that is well priced in the markets and is therefore an important species in aquaculture. There are large losses in the early stages of breeding and they have been linked to bacterial stress, although the effects of individual species are poorly defined and therefore debatable. It was therefore decided to start mapping the bacterial flora of halibut larvae in all production units at Fiskey hf. during a certain period. The main results showed great variability in the number and composition of bacteria in the larvae and there were indications that certain species were only found in larvae from breeding units where the survival and quality of larvae were above average. Bacterial species that have not been previously identified in halibut were also found. The study also showed that there was a link between the number of cultivable bacteria and a certain defect, which means that the larvae are not able to feed.
The article as a whole can be accessed here.
Other articles from Matís employees as well as other publications, reports, leaflets etc. can be found here.