Atlantic Salmon and Maine’s renewable wood pulp industry may sound like an unlikely duo at first, but Deborah Bouchard and Sarah Turner from the Aquaculture Research Institute (ARI) have recognized the potential this pairing could have for the future of environmental, economic, and social sustainability for the US aquaculture industry. Debbie and Sarah Bouchard are to researching a new generation of safer, more sustainable, and cheaper vaccines for finfish. Here is where Atlantic Salmon meets its unlikely match, wood pulp. This abundant polymer is biocompatible, biodegradable, quite versatile, and easily modified – making it a phenomenal candidate for drug delivery. Tune in to learn more and hear about their results so far!

and Vibrio ordalii. This adjuvant, a component of vaccines to improve and prolong immune

response, showed no evidence of cellular damage and no effects on growth for the fish while

inducing a strong immune and antibody boosting response. With less side effects and cheaper to

manufacture than existing vaccines these preliminary results are exciting, highlighting the efficacy

of nanocellulose adjuvants.

ISAv and V. ordalii alone can cause farmers to lose 90% of their stocks, amounting to over $1

billion annually. Development of this new, safe, and affordable vaccine using nanocellulose is not

only huge for Atlantic salmon farmers but other food production systems as well. This new

generation of low cost, tunable vaccine formulation is paving a way toward more sustainable

aquaculture, with potential applicability for other fish species and even terrestrial animals as well.

Leveraging direct industry support from Cooke Aquaculture, Kennebec River Biosciences,

Benchmark Animal Health LTD, this interdisciplinary team from UMaine’s Aquaculture Research

Institute and the Chemical and Biomedical Engineering Department has immense experience and

resources relating to fish health, immunobiology, and vaccine formulation. Results will be shared

directly through ARI’s web site, Cooperative Extension and Maine Sea Grant extension

professionals, national conferences, and peer-reviewed publications.