eCAP - Capelin Search with Environmental Genetics (eDNA) is a joint project of the Marine Research Institute and Matís that aims to develop new genetic methods for capelin exploration. For the past three years, it has been difficult to find enough capelin to be able to issue fishing quotas. It is believed that environmental changes in the sea off Iceland mean that capelin now appears to have a different distribution and diet than before.
eCAP aims to develop genetic methods for capelin retrieval. These methods are based on collecting environmental genetic material from sea samples taken at different depths in the MRI's capelin expeditions. Environmental genetics are DNA molecules that are released from organisms in the ocean, for example from mucus, skins or faeces, and can be filtered from the sea sample. After isolating the genetic material, specialized capelin genetic markers are used to determine if and how much capelin genetic material is present in the sample. This allows you to determine if there is or has been capelin in the search area and facilitate the search. The eCAP project also seeks to make these methods simple and fast so that crews can do so on board fishing vessels.
The first step in eCAP was to find genetic markers that are totally specialized for capelin. Guðbjörg Ólafsdóttir, a specialist at Matís, has already designed this genetic marker. The next stage of the project is to use the genetic marker to analyze capelin in sea samples taken during the MRI expeditions, and compare these results with echo soundings from the same expeditions. The method is expected to be useful in about two years, and researchers from the Marine Research Institute and Matís and hopefully capelin fishermen are excited about a new method for capelin exploration.
The project is funded by the Rannís Technology Development Fund for three years. For more information about the project, please contact the eCAP Project Manager, Dr. Christophe Pampoulie, geneticist at the Marine Research Institute, christophe.s.pampoulie [at] hafogvatn.is.
