Marine aggregates in North Atlantic coast: Microbial characteristics and potential interactions with farmed Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar).

Microbial contamination of aggregates collected near an Atlantic salmon farm, in the Cherbourg roadstead, was followed monthly over one year to study the dynamics of Vibrio spp. and explore their impact on farmed fish. Salmon state of health was followed through blood and histopathological analyses. Vibrio were systematically found in aggregates with particularly high concentration in August. The Splendidus clade was strongly dominant in aggregates as well as in gills, and an increase in Vibrio diversity was observed in summer and autumn. Results did not demonstrate that aggregates directly impact the bacterial community of gills, but they suggested an aggregates-gills interaction. Gill contamination was correlated with water temperature and probably impacted by amoebae. Vibrio renipiscarius and Vibrio toranzoniae were isolated in North Atlantic for the first time. A better understanding of the interaction between marine aggregates, Vibrio spp. and fish is essential to improve salmon cage farming.

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Author statement - Declaration of competing interest The present study is an original work, which has not been previously published in whole or in part. All authors have disclosed any actual or potential competing interests regarding the article and the nature of those interests. All authors have read the manuscript and accept responsibility for the contents. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. All authors agree to submit this work for a possible publication as a research paper in Marine Environmental Research. Individual contribution of each author to this work: Experimental work: Article preparation: