Pathology of experimental infections of the sablefish, <i>Anoplopoma fimbria</i> (Pallas), with <i>Renibacterium salmoninarum</i>, the agent of bacterial kidney disease in salmonids

Abstract

Abstract. The susceptibility of sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria (Pallas), a potential candidate for commercial mariculture, to the devastating salmonid pathogen Renibacterium salmoninarum (Rs) and the pathology of the infection were investigated. Sablefish became moribund or died of apparently uncomplicated infections of Rs within 50‐71 days following intrapcritoncal inoculation of the pathogen and pure cultures of Rs were re‐isolated from some affected individuals. At least one sablefish carried the pathogen up to 165 days post‐inoculation when the experiment was terminated. The pathology of the Rs infection in this strictly marine fish is described and the implication of the findings to the operation of salmon marinefarms is discussed.