Objective
There is a rise in world population and an increased demand for feed fish and shellfish. Against this, fish catches are decreasing. There will therefore be a direct need for the growth of aquaculture and as a consequence the markets for fish therapeutics will expand. The demand to gain the ability to control the reproductive cycle of a given species has become essential. This project brought together partners from France, Netherlands, and Belgium, specialised in different fields including; pharmaceuticals, law, fish nutrition, endocrinology and aquaculture aiming at the industrial application of microcapsule delivery. The project started with fundamental research on the intestinal uptake of bioactive peptides and proteins that had been carried out earlier in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Programme (FAR) of the EC. It resulted in an efficient microencapsulate oral delivery system for uptake of GnRH (Gonadotropin release hormone) by fish. This project aimed to further develop this 'in feed' or dietary delivery form of the bioactive peptide GnRH which will provide a man-made control of reproduction.
The objective of the project was to valorise a dietary delivery system of GnRH to fulfil the growing demand of the aquaculture sector concerning broodstock management and control. The introduction of oral or dietary GnRH-therapy will boost the development of those species which do not mature in artificial conditions such as flatfish, wells and sturgeon. It is therefore expected that this diversification will lead to more jobs in the aquaculture industry. The veterinary industry is also looking for easier ways to handle delivery forms for their vaccines, antibacterials, immunostimulants. The pilot work was carried out on three species with different feeding habits, namely common carp, African catfish and rainbow trout.
A non-invasive, practical, cost effective technique, to allow mass treatment of fish was proposed for the fish farmer. The following advantages should be related to this technology. In contrast to individual treatment by injection it allows mass treatment of fish. It does not need capture or handling and is consequently non-invasive and not stressful for the animals even after repeated treatment. It is free of the restraint of the usage of anaesthetics. It gives a high quality egg output, high relative fecundity, hatching and larval survival rates. It is easy to scale up, applicable to small fish and is less time/labour intensive than GnRH-therapy by injection. By this delivery system it will be possible to control maturation and induce ovulation and spermiation in several species of cultured fish with similar dosages to those used for classic injection or implantation.
The following spin off projects emerged from the research:
- KULeuven and INTERVET agreed a joint research project in the field of oral vaccination
- during the course of the project, it became clear that a mammalian GnRH analogue was highly effective to stimulate ovulation in fish. INTERVET has begun clinical trials to register the use of azagly-nafarelin as an ovulation and maturation inducing agent in aquaculture
- KULeuven identified a natural bacteriostatic compound which may be of interest as an ingredient in larval feeds. Through the contact network built up during the project, a potential industrial partner was identified, who is presently evaluating the technology.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- agricultural sciences agriculture, forestry, and fisheries fisheries
- natural sciences biological sciences biochemistry biomolecules proteins
- medical and health sciences basic medicine pharmacology and pharmacy pharmaceutical drugs vaccines
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine endocrinology
- medical and health sciences clinical medicine anaesthesiology
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Coordinator
3000 LEUVEN
Belgium
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.