Aquaculture

Seafood is a growing part of the economy, but its economic value is diminished by a number of infectious diseases that reduce commercial species’ growth and survivorship or decrease seafood quality. These infections are particularly problematic in the stressful and crowded conditions of aquaculture. Infectious diseases of farmed oysters, shrimp, abalone, and various fishes, particularly Atlantic salmon, cost billions of dollars each year. For example, shrimp farms can become infected with bacteria like Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which produce a lethal toxin and cause Early Mortality Syndrome which causes huge economic losses. Classically, chemicals and antibiotics have been used to combat these infections, however, toxic build up, antibiotic off target effects, antibiotic resistance and antibiotics entering the food chain and reaching humans are all undesired consequences. Probiotics and live bacterial vaccines have been used to treat such disease but their “shelf-life” survival as well as their poor viability when they are added to the water in aquaculture farms coupled with a low probability of uptake by aquatic life during feeding has limited their use. Encapsulated probiotics have an enhanced shelf life, even at room temperature and they survive better in water. Each capsules contains millions of bacteria that can easily be ingested in particulate form. Moreover because the capsule is made of cellulose it is both palatable and safe for aquatic life.