A not foreseen effect of the blockage of fish migrating routes by hydropower dams was the formation of environments with different biosecurity, i.e. the infectious diseases present in the inland zone and the coastal zone differ to some extent. The situation of the present barriers is now changing due to a number of reasons and new knowledge is needed to prevent disease transmission.
Spread of disease between the inland and costal zones is currently prevented by the hydropower barriers and legislation against the movement of live fish from the coastal zone to the inland zone. However, activities including restoration of river connectivity by the opening of former migration routes, sportfishing and increased interest in Swedish farmed fish/aquaculture have the potential to negatively affect disease pressure and transmission of pathogens in freshwater systems.
The proposed project has two aims. Firstly, to gather relevant competence available in Sweden in order to facilitate information flow and to agree on knowledge gaps and their mitigation. Secondly, to perform a number of small pilot studies as add-ons to already ongoing suitable activities.
Main Applicant:
Co-applicants:
Start and end date: 2021-10 to 2022-09
The project is funded by SLU Aquaculture, which support cross-faculty collaborations to further strengthen aquaculture research at SLU. Read more about SLU Aquaculture, current research projects and upcoming calls.