Halamid® - a safe, universal disinfectant from France-based Axcentive - has long been associated with successful biosecurity for freshwater trout and for young salmon during the ground-based freshwater life stages.
Halamid® has achieved success against Flavo and other gill bacteria, Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD) and other parasites, Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA), and fungal diseases such as Seprolegnia, and there has also been recurring interest in using Halamid® to treat seawater pathogens as well.
The product has been used to treat wellboat water and disinfect wellboats, nets and cages. On several occasions salmon producers have also applied for and received discharge permits to use to tackle difficult outbreaks in open lake cages.
Axcentive says that it has been demonstrated that AGD density on salmonid in seawater can be markedly decreased using Halamid®, which can offer a more practical solution than freshwater bathing, for example.
Halamid® activity is marginally higher in seawater than in freshwater, which (like all oxidative biocides) raises the possibility of higher toxicity to target species as well. However, results from further careful studies show that exposure to the recommended dosage of 10ppm in seawater for one hour is safe for Atlantic salmon smolts.
As the summer months draw on and sea temperatures become warmer, the scourge of AGD is likely to affect more sites, so more aquaculture producers and well-boat operators will be rediscovering Halamid® this season.
Further studies are also ongoing in Indonesia to optimise safe and effective treatment rates for tropical seawater species such as grouper, silver pompano and sea bass at different life stages.
