Fish farming-Another case of antibiotic misuse

Development of antibiotic resistance in human beings is becoming an increasing concern world over though it is more acute as being reported, in Western countries where antibiotic tweaked feed is routinely fed to poultry birds and live stock animals. This practice became widespread when the animal food industry realized that such feeds can add significant weights to their birds and animals. Antibiotic resistance is supposed to be developed when popular antibiotics used in human beings are preferred choice of the animal food industry. Many countries are taking appropriate action in restraining the industry from using these antibiotics to prevent serious disease causing pathogens becoming super bugs able to with stand the "kill effect" of such antibiotics. However another instance of serious misuse of antibiotics is reported to be emerging among fish breeders in some countries which has been overlooked earlier, adding new dimension to the problem. Here is a take on this alarming development.  

The concern surrounding animal antibiotics focuses on meat and poultry production, but a new study suggests we should also be paying attention to fish. Researchers at Arizona State University investigated 47 antibiotics in U.S.- purchased shrimp, salmon, catfish, trout, tilapia and swai originating from 11 different countries. Their findings, published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, identified five antibiotics detected in shrimp, salmon, tilapia and trout. Oxytetracycline was the most commonly detected antibiotic compound, and it was found in farmed fish and wild shrimp. The researchers also found 4-epioxytetracycline, sulfadimethoxine, and ormetoprim in certain species and virginiamycin in farmed salmon marketed as antibiotic-free. Lead author Hansa Done, a Ph.D. candidate at ASU's Center for Environmental Security, told Time.com that antibiotics are added to the water in fish farms to treat and prevent disease or are directly injected into fish, but that they are not used for growth promotion. The antibiotic levels detected in the study were within legal limits, and the researchers report low risk of drug exposure from seafood consumption, but even the low levels can promote antibiotic resistance. The authors add that publications reporting antibiotic resistance in aquaculture have increased eight-fold over three decades.

It is sad that meat and fish food industries are indulging in such malpractices without caring for the well being of the consumers who after all provide them with their "bread and butter". Of course fish breeders may argue that they are using these antibiotics to make their products safer to the consumers. However this industry is forgetting that residues of antibiotics present in fish so raised can get into human system, slowly creating resistance in many microbes many of them virulent ones capable of inflicting severe health disorders. Similarly the antibiotic containing water where fish is raised is a potential contaminating source for the soil and water around. As most fish in the US market originate from countries like India, Thailand, China, Vietnam etc the implications are clear. Whether antibiotic use is practiced in the US also is not known though one can assume, knowing the attitude of food industry in general there, that US farmers also must be resorting to this practice. It is time suitable international protocols are arrived at for guiding the fish farmers and aqua culture industry for not using antibiotics which are commonly prescribed for treating diseases among human beings.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

AQUACULTURE + HYDROPONICS= AQUAPONICS!

Hydroponics system of agriculture depends on controlled growing of plants providing inputs through water medium without using soil under modified atmosphere conditions. One of the advantages of hydroponics is that for each crop right growing conditions can be provided through different inputs and atmospheric environment. Variations of this system include Aeroponics and Bubbleponics and now comes theAquaponics. Fruits like water melon, cantaloupe, strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, grapes can be grown under hydroponics while many vegetables are being produced using the same system which include beets, carrots, celery, tomato, broccoli, peas, beans etc. Flowering plants also can be grown though it requires more attention and care in designing the system for different flowers requiring different nutrients. Aquaponics system integrates hydroponics and aquaculture for fish production, both of which compliment each other. While the fish waste of aquaculture is a good nutrient source for plants, the water cleaned up by the plant in the hydroponics reduces the water requirement for aquaculture. Realizing the importance and relevance of aquaponics some universities are even focused courses in this new emerging area for training students. Here is a take on this interesting new development.

Aquaponics differs from hydroponics in that hydroponics relies on the addition of nutrient salts to the water to grow plants, rather than relying on the nutrients naturally occurring in fish waste. "Aquaponics is the coupling of two biological systems,"DiLoreto explained. "The plants feed off the fish and the fish purify the water for the plants -- so at the end you have two products, fish and plants. It's a much more natural process." He noted that sustainable methods are used in aquaponicgreenhouses. "You can't use most pesticides because they're toxic to fish," he said. "One needs to focus primarily on biological pest management." DiLoreto added that he believes aquaponic systems go hand-in-hand with increased interest in greener, sustainable agricultural practices and organic and locally-grown foods. Current plans for the Penn State aquaponics system include using two 300-gallon tanks to grow tilapia, and a large hydroponics area where basil, lettuce, mustard greens and micro-greens will be grown.

One is reminded of integrated agriculture being practiced in some parts of the world where crops like paddy are grown in conjunction with fish ponds for mutual benefits though there is limitations here in using fertilizers and chemical protectants. Probably fisheries can survive and prosper in paddy cultivation which requires enormous water for optimal growth. Aquaponics, as is being practiced to day, can be a boon to urban gardening and limitation of land will not be a constraint for popularizing agricultural practices. Besides in the nutrition parlor fish and vegetables are mutually reinforcing foods, bringing about radical improvements in the diets of urban dwellers. Local food sentiments can only boost the potential of aquaponics in coming years as a viable alternative to commercially grown foods ferried from across the globe at great cost to the environment.    


V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

HARMONIOUS GLOBAL STANDARDS FOR AQUACULTURE-THE FAO INITIATIVE

Globalization of trade requires harmonized standards and protocols and in agriculture and food, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UNO has done yeomen service during the last 3-4 decades. These standards also help in settling trade disputes between member countries under the WTO regime. Latest instance of global cooperation is exemplified by the consensus evolved on guidelines for aquaculture production without affecting the ecological balance. Since almost all major players in the field have agreed to the consensus, these guidelines and certification system are likely become universal.

"The guidelines, finalised after four years of consultation and debate among governments, producers, traders and processors, have been adopted by the sub-committee of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) on aquaculture. Over 50 countries attended the meeting of sub-committee, which is the only global inter-governmental forum discussing aquaculture development, an FAO statement said. The guidelines, which are non-binding, will now go to the committee on fisheries when it meets in Rome in January 2011 for approval, it added. If the guidelines are followed in full by countries, certification will enable consumers standing at the fish counter to know whether the shrimp they are considering buying were raised without damaging a coastal mangrove swamp, whether the fish farm worker was paid a fair wage, and whether the shell fish is free of contamination. Although aquatic animal health and food safety issues have been subjected to certification and international compliance for many years, the new guidelines mark the first time animal welfare, environmental issues and socio-economic aspects have been subjected to compliance or certification. "These guidelines have been developed to bring some harmony to what is the fastest growing food sector in the world," said FAO aquaculture expert Rohana Subasinghe. World fish production was 143.6 million tonnes in 2006. India produces about 6.57 million tonne fish every year".

It is not that international guidelines were not existing earlier because country to country trade in fish was always according to safety standards monitored by internationally

accepted consultants based on pre-agreed product specifications. What the present effort has achieved is to weave into the product specifications other factors like environmental impact, social and economic factors concerning the aquaculture workers and status of contamination of the products. A discerning consumer will now be able to choose a fish product that has done no damage to the mangroves, is free from contamination and was produced with workers earning fair wages.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

FISH BY AQUACULTURE -AUGMENTING GLOBAL PRODUCTION

But for the large scale adoption of Aquaculture all over the world, most of the fish species coming from the wild would have been extinct long ago due to over harvesting for meeting the ever increasing demand for this highly nutritious food. With regular meat consumption being frowned upon because of its adverse effect on health, fish is the only safe food from the animal world that is universally recommended.

"Aquaculture is the production of seafood including shrimp, fish and plants under controlled conditions for at least part of their lifecycle. According to the FDA, the aquaculture sector has grown more than 11 percent annually. Aquaculture is now the fastest-segment growing segment of agriculture worldwide, accounting for 52 percent of all fish produced, according to the agency. In the US, 85 percent of all seafood consumed is imported from approximately 50 different countries, of that 40 percent comes from aquaculture and 60 percent is from wild harvest".

Most of the fish species are rich source of Omega-3 fatty acids, the essential nutrient, the body cannot synthesize in vivo. Aquaculture technology has assumed the critical role as a dependable way to produce various fish species that are in demand. Many rivers and the sea water are invariably polluted with man-made chemicals and industrial wastes and the safety of fish harvested from these water bodies is increasingly being compromised. In aquaculture system the producer has control on many parameters and the safety of the fish produced is more or less assured.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com