Matís, in collaboration with Íslandsbleikja, the University of Akureyri, Keldur and the Spanish vaccine manufacturer Hipra are working on the development of a specific vaccine for char.
Iceland is the largest producer of char in the world with about four thousand tons of production per year. No drugs other than prophylactic vaccines have been used in charr farming for more than a decade and all chemical use is kept to a minimum. The disease that has caused the most deaths in charr farming in recent years is bubonic plague. Vaccination against the disease, based on a vaccine developed for use in salmon, has not been effective enough to protect charr until it reaches slaughter size. The disease therefore causes extensive losses and loss of income in the industry.
The participants in the project, which is funded by the AVS Research Fund, have now started the development of a specific vaccine against bluetongue, with the aim of launching a powerful vaccine that can be used in charr farming. The project is led by Íslandsbleikja and the results of the project will be available in the second half of 2019.