Reducing Disease Risk in Aquaculture

This report summarises an international effort engaging a wide range of industry, government, and civil society informants to draw practical lessons from major aquaculture disease outbreaks for the benefit of stakeholders throughout the aquaculture industry.

Key structural and behavioural attributes of the aquaculture industry make farmed fish vulnerable to disease. Conditions that lead to disease include: 1) close proximity among farming operations and/or contiguous water supply and discharge; 2) unregulated transfer of animals and/or gametes among farms and from sites outside of the farming area; 3) high levels of stress in farmed animals; 4) lack of adherence to on-farm sanitary protocols; 4) inadequate government veterinary services; and 5) failure of farmers to share information and cooperate in collective action.

Corrective measures to reduce disease include: 1) regulation of farm density within a designated zone to avoid sharing of water inputs and outfalls; 2) quarantine and careful control of movement of cultured animals into the zone and between farms; 3) adoption of best aquaculture practices at the farm level; 4) respect for basic sanitary measures at the farm level; 5) structured dialogue among farmers and between government and farmers to improve knowledge and compliance.