VACCINATION
Preventative fish health management in modern aquaculture Terje Tingbø, PHARMAQ part of Zoetis
Figure 1. Manual vaccination of pangasius in Vietnam. Each fish is carefully vaccinated by trained operators using hand-held injectors.
Sustainable and healthy food for a growing global population There is an increasing need for healthy and sustainably produced food driven by a growing global population. Many wild fish stocks are overexploited, and aquaculture is the solution to meet the rising demand for seafood. Aquaculture production has grown by 7.5% annually since 1970, and volumes of farmed fish have recently surpassed wild catch (FAO). Despite significant advances in farming practice and technology, the aquaculture industry is still facing challenges with regard to disease outbreaks, food safety and environmental footprint.
The aquatic environment Intensified production increases the risk of outbreaks and the spread of disease for all farmed animals. Epidemiology in fish populations is similar to that of humans and other animals, but there is one important difference. Fish live in water which represents an optimal environment for the transmission of bacteria, viruses and parasites. Pathogens may be transferred between wild and farmed species, between fish inside the farm, or from one farm to another. When disease occurs, the whole population must be treated, with the risk of pharmaceutical residues influencing the farming system and reaching the surrounding aquatic
Hatchery Feed & Management Vol 10 Issue 2 2022
