Tiltrædelsesforelæsninger

Lone Madsen er uddannet dyrlæge og har en ph.d. i fiskesygdomme fra Den Kongelige Veterinær- og Landbohøjskole. Hun har været ansat ved DTU (DTU Aqua og DTU Vet) det meste af sin karriere og blev udnævnt til professor i akvatisk sygdomskontrol og bakteriologi i december 2024.

Hendes forskning fokuserer på fiskesygdomme, særligt fiskepatogene bakterier, samt sygdomme hos bløddyr. Hun arbejder med sygdomsforebyggelse, herunder bakteriofagterapi, diagnostiske metoder, kontrollerede infektionsmodeller og patogenese. Hendes forskning omfatter også betydningen af foder og fodertilsætningsstoffer for fisks sundhed, herunder tarmens mikrobiota.

Rådgivning og samarbejde med myndigheder og interessenter er centrale elementer i hendes arbejde. Hun yder videnskabelig rådgivning til offentlige myndigheder, herunder risikovurderinger relateret til akvakultur og sygdomme hos akvatiske dyr, og bidrager til internationale forskningsnetværk og koordinering, blandt andet i ICES og som leder af Danmarks nationale referencelaboratorium for sygdomme hos bløddyr. Desuden underviser hun på kurset ’Sundhedsmanagement og sygdomsbekæmpelse i akvakultur’.

Prophylactic measures against disease in aquatic animals – defining a healthy direction for sustainable aquaculture 

Do fish and shellfish get sick? The short answer is yes. Can they be treated? Yes, to that, too. Bacterial diseases in cultured aquatic animals can be treated with antibiotics, just like in us warm-blooded animals. Would we like to lower the amount of antibiotics used in aquaculture? Yes, but how? One answer is to look for prophylactic measures to avoid disease in the first place.

A better understanding of preventative and prophylactic measures in relation to diseases in commercially valuable finfish and shellfish species is the primary focus of my research. A core element of this research is to improve knowledge concerning the bacterial pathogens responsible for these diseases, knowledge used towards improved pathogen screening and surveillance as well as improved diagnostic methods.

In addition, the role of environmental factors in disease development in aquatic animals should not be overlooked. In fact, the presence and severity of disease results from the interactions of pathogen factors, host factors and environmental factors.

This presentation will focus on my research on finfish diseases, specifically on the development of Flavobacterium psychrophilum, the causative agent of rainbow trout fry syndrome, as a model pathogen relevant to aquaculture in Denmark and overseas. I will show how the results of this research are relevant to industry needs today and in the future. 

Mikael Seehusen Kruchov van Deurs har en ph.d. i marinbiologi fra Københavns Universitet og tog i 2010 til Lunds Universitet for at gennemføre et individuelt postdoc-projekt finansieret af Det Frie Forskningsråd (FNU). Derudover har han været ansat ved DTU Aqua det meste af sin karriere. Han blev udnævnt til professor i økosystembaseret forvaltningsrådgivning om fiskebestande ved DTU i februar 2026.

Hans forskning har fokus på at understøtte bevaringsinitiativer og udvikle økosystembaseret fiskeriforvaltning for fiskearter, der indgår i fiskeriet, i både kystnære og åbne havområder. Arbejdet integrerer centrale økologiske processer som artsinteraktioner, arts-habitat-dynamikker og reaktioner på miljøforandringer ved hjælp af modellering, statistiske analyser og feltstudier.

Inddragelse af interessenter og klar formidling af data og vurderingsresultater til en bredere målgruppe er også centrale elementer i hans tilgang.

Han koordinerer forskningsområdet “Fiskebestande og deres levesteder” og underviser på kurset ’Anvendt fiskeriøkologi’.

Linking ecology to fisheries management

How can biological and ecological knowledge be integrated into fisheries management and conservation, and provide a foundation for biological advice and communication with stakeholders and decisionmakers? This question has been a guiding thread throughout my research.

A central focus of my work has been stock productivity and stock–recruitment relationships, as these provide crucial links between fish biology, environmental variability, climate forcing, and fisheries advice. My research therefore seeks to understand how these dynamics are shaped by environmental conditions and how such knowledge can be more effectively reflected in stock assessments and the advice we produce. Using this perspective, I will present examples ranging from the great North Sea sandeel stocks to the highly productive late summer feeding grounds of Øresund, highlighting the roles of climate variability, oceanographic processes, and prey quantity and quality.

I will touch upon cases where ecosystem information and biological knowledge have been successfully operationalized, for example in survey design, but, perhaps more importantly, why this often remains difficult. I will argue that one of the most immediate impacts of biological knowledge may lie in the communication of our research, including the use of targeted research to explain changes in productivity to fisheries organizations and stakeholders.

Finally, I will discuss the challenges that lie ahead. With ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM) moving rapidly from concept to practice, the key question is no longer whether to adopt an ecosystem approach, but how to operationalize it. At the same time, fisheries management is undergoing a broader transformation, as EBFM increasingly overlaps with marine protected areas and biodiversity conservation. While this challenges existing assessment and monitoring approaches, it may also offer new and potentially stronger pathways for integrating biological and ecosystem knowledge into fisheries management and marine conservation.