Page 58 - ii_3_2020

56 Aquaculture//

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE (AMR) IN

AQUACULTURE: THE WAY FORWARD

By Sujit Krishna Das

The indiscriminate and unregulated use of antibiotics as additives in feeds and to treat diseases
in aquaculture systems has created strains of resistant bacteria, thus making the drugs no longer
effective. Predictably, these resistant microbes have a negative effect on not only cultured stocks, but
also on human health and the environment, as well as reduce the production potential from the sector.
At the global level, the issue of microbial resistance is being tackled mainly by the tripartite FAO/OIE/
WHO collaboration, but farmers and other national stakeholders also have a role to play.

Credit: FAO/Sergei Gapon
A veterinarian in Belarus conducting laboratory tests.
Introduction has been growing at a rate twice as fast as population growth,
reaching a record high per capita consumption of 20.5 kg in
Global fish production peaked at about 171 million tonnes in 2017 and expected to exceed 25 kg per capita by 2025, i.e. 20
2016, with aquaculture representing 47 percent of the total. percent higher than today. Meanwhile, the world population
2
Between 1961 and 2016 the average annual increase in global will reach 9.5 billion by 2050, at which time the contribution
fish consumption (3.2 percent) outpaced population growth from aquaculture will be 63 percent. The sector therefore
(1.6 percent). The aquaculture figure indicates a substantial needs to develop a new vision in the context of Agenda
increase in the relative contribution of the farming sector to 2030 for sustainable development, which includes increasing
total fish production from 5 percent in 1962 to 47 percent production and conserving biodiversity.
in 2016 (SOFIA 2018) . The global increase in production has
1
also resulted in a wide diversity of species being cultivated – A major challenge in this endeavour is antibiotic resistance,
currently over 580 species in total (consisting of 362 finfishes, defined by the World Health Organization as occurring when
62 crustaceans and 37 aquatic plants) with a wide range of bacteria change in response to the use of antibiotics used
growth and maximum production conditions. to treat bacterial infections, thus making them no longer
effective. Together with antifungals and other drugs which
The contribution of the aquaculture sector to meet the goal treat infections caused by microorganisms, antibiotics are
of a world without hunger and malnutrition and to achieve antimicrobials: agents (natural, synthetic or semisynthetic)
Agenda 2030, is significant. Global per capita fish consumption that kill microorganisms or inhibit their growth but cause

INFOFISH International 3/2020 ● www.infofish.org