Fish in space
Clara Venture Labs (CVL) has been awarded a contract from the Norwegian Space Agency to explore the potential of farming fish for space applications. The project will be a pre-study to assess how Atlantic Salmon (Salmo Salar) will experience the vibrations and accelerations associated with a launch into space. The experimental program is a collaboration between CVL and NORCE, where CVL will design and build the fish tank for the experiment, and NORCE will conduct the experiments and maintain good fish welfare. The tests will be conducted in CVL’s vibration lab at Fantoft and will therefore be classified as a field experiment.
We expect to perform our experiments using a total of 90 Atlantic salmon smolts of size about 50g each. The vibration tests will be performed by placing a fish tank of approximate size 20L on a vibrating table and applying the vibration spectra associated with a launch. Fish behavior will be observed and recorded during the testing, and the stress response will be analysed by analyzing the behavior of fish. For each trial, a group of 5 fish will be placed in the tank. After each test, the fish will be euthanized and tissue samples will be collected that will be used to measure stress level. The experimental tool is noninvasive (behavior analyses) and non-recovery (euthanasia followed by tissue sample collection) and does not involve chronic pain or invasive surgery. Animal welfare is of utmost importance for all these experiments.
Since the project involves testing potential of farming fish (Atlantic salmon) for space application, there are no other alternative methods possible. Reduction in number of experimental animals is achieved by using a very small number of test animals, and with few repetitions that represents the absolute minimum of what is required to obtain usable data. The experimental conditions will be optimized based on related past studies. The fish density in the test tank is low. The main water quality parameters will be monitored during testing (O2, temperature and pH). If the first test group show signs of adverse fish welfare, the test will be stopped, and no further testing conducted. After testing the fish will be euthanized. Any equipment in contact with the fish will be sterilized prior to use.
We expect to perform our experiments using a total of 90 Atlantic salmon smolts of size about 50g each. The vibration tests will be performed by placing a fish tank of approximate size 20L on a vibrating table and applying the vibration spectra associated with a launch. Fish behavior will be observed and recorded during the testing, and the stress response will be analysed by analyzing the behavior of fish. For each trial, a group of 5 fish will be placed in the tank. After each test, the fish will be euthanized and tissue samples will be collected that will be used to measure stress level. The experimental tool is noninvasive (behavior analyses) and non-recovery (euthanasia followed by tissue sample collection) and does not involve chronic pain or invasive surgery. Animal welfare is of utmost importance for all these experiments.
Since the project involves testing potential of farming fish (Atlantic salmon) for space application, there are no other alternative methods possible. Reduction in number of experimental animals is achieved by using a very small number of test animals, and with few repetitions that represents the absolute minimum of what is required to obtain usable data. The experimental conditions will be optimized based on related past studies. The fish density in the test tank is low. The main water quality parameters will be monitored during testing (O2, temperature and pH). If the first test group show signs of adverse fish welfare, the test will be stopped, and no further testing conducted. After testing the fish will be euthanized. Any equipment in contact with the fish will be sterilized prior to use.