Aquaculture has been the fastest-growing animal production sector over recent decades. Salmon production in Europe reached 1.9 million tonnes in 2022 and is expected to grow by approximately 25% by 2030. However, the salmon industry faces a major health challenge due to recurrent infestations by sea lice (Lepeophtheirus salmonis). There is strong industry interest in identifying new solutions—particularly those applied through nutrition—that can mitigate the detrimental impacts of sea lice infestation in salmon.

Fish skin is a dynamic, metabolically active tissue and an integral component of the innate immune system, acting as the first line of defence against environmental, physical, and parasitic challenges. Through the co-promotion project SKINS, RIASEARCH and SPAROS, in partnership with ENESII (UTAD, ICBAS, CIIMAR, GreenCoLab, S2AQUA), aim to develop new research services to assess both the disruption of the sea lice life cycle and the dietary-driven regeneration of skin lesions in salmonids affected by sea lice.

This expansion of RIASEARCH’s service portfolio is expected to strengthen its market position and significantly broaden its current customer base.