Fish experimental facilities

Fish experimental facilities of LEMAR, located on the Ifremer Centre Bretagne site, are accredited for animal experimentation, in accordance with the French decree n°2013-118, relating to the protection of animals used for scientific purposes. These facilities are continuously supplied with seawater from the Bay of Brest. They are highly adaptable and allow experimentation over the entire life cycle of fish, from larval to adult stages. They are equipped with different devices to act on lighting, temperature, pH or dissolved oxygen. In addition, some experimental rooms can be connected to a water treatment plant for experiments using pathogens or pollutants of organic or microplastic types. The research carried out on site mainly uses sea bass as fish model. However, some experiments have already been conducted on seabreams, soles, turbots or flounders. The European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is a fish of economic, aquaculture and fisheries interest. As a result, it has been studied for many years. It is also a long-lived animal for which every period of its life is perfectly controlled. On-going experiments are focusing on fish acclimatization capacities in response to global change. For example, acidification studies are conducted since 2013 to assess the transgenerational effects of exposure to the acidification conditions predicted by the IPCC in 2050 and 2100. All research projects carried out in the experimental infrastructures have been previously validated by dedicated national and local committees.  In compliance with the legislation, all persons working with live animals must be qualified and authorized. Research projects are often carried out as part of collaborative research projects in national and international contexts.  Some projects are also carried out in partnership with several companies.