According to a recent aquaculture journal, India is home to more than 10% of global fish diversity. It is one of the most important sector of food production. Our country ranks 3rd in fisheries production, and 2nd in aquaculture. Fisheries alone has employed 145 million people and contributed to 1.07% of the GDP and generated export earnings of about ₹334.41 billion as per a recent estimate of National Fisheries Development Board. Aquaculture definition is a broad spectrum term. But, it can be briefly described as the controlled process of cultivating aquatic organisms, especially for human consumption. It’s a similar concept to agriculture, but with fish instead of plants or livestock.
Freshwater aquaculture that contributes about 55% of the total fish production is predominantly driven by smallholder farmers and institutionalised culture fisheries in part. In small-scale fisheries, products are consumed at the household level or are sold in local markets within the fishing community. Additionally, small-scale fisheries meet a raging concern for poverty reduction and food security in developing countries as it contains a rich animal protein and Omega 3 fatty acids, providing a nutritional diet.
Historically, the Indian fresh water fish farming was based on a multi species system, which now is well known by the term Aquaculture.
Aquaculture is the breeding, rearing and harvesting of fish, shellfish, aquatic plants and other organisms in all types of water environment. The major Indian carps which are reared in aquaculture includes catla (Catla catla), rohu (Labeo rohita), and mrigala (Cirrhinus mrigala).
According to new report in an aquaculture journal, an urgent warning has been issued on the spread of drug resistance (anti-microbial resistance, AMR) from animal to human pathogens. Aquaculture has always remained an under-appreciated source of AMR. But as global citizens, we can no longer neglect its impact on human and the surrounding ecosystem.
The biggest challenge now for the scientific community is to find a sustainable solution to the spread of AMR without negotiating the economic security of fishing societies.
In countries like, Africa and South Asia, where coastal communities are widely spread, faces the worst of health and environmental disaster. The use of antibiotics in aquaculture had resulted in anti microbial resistance. The adverse effect of AMR in human race is skyrocketing. The concern for impacts of AMR has been very well explained in aquaculture journals. Fishing communities have made heavy use of antibiotics to boost animal growth and to prevent disease outbreaks.
Consequences of heavy antibiotic use:
The intensive fish culture practices of rearing high number of fishes in pens and ponds has shown devastating effects. Saprolegnia parasitica, a fungal-like organism from the oomycete family is naturally a saprotrophic fungi which eats dead things, thus contributing to the carbon cycle. But, when fishes are farmed intensively by packing together in crowded pools, S. parasitica becomes a deadly parasite, necrotizing the flesh of stressed animals and causing the disease Saprolegniasis. It is a disease of the epidermis of fish. It typically starts on the fins or head and often spreads over the entire body, being visible as grey-white patches on skin.
Fish farming can undoubtedly be an economic boon, but it comes with risks. Vulnerability to climate change and local spread of AMR in human pathogens are directly correlated. There are strong evidences that increasing water temperatures due to climate change increases the severity of some fish diseases, which certainly contributes to their dependency on antibiotics.
Solutions:
The most effective solutions according to aquaculture journal have been described in this context. The foremost affordable change that can be done is by integrating fish farming with other types of cultivation. Combining aquaculture with algae harvesting allows companies like Swedish Algae Factory to use nature to clean waste from fish tanks and absorb carbon dioxide. Algae are then harvested to produce new biomaterials and valuable cosmetic ingredients. A similar approach of growing fish and edible seaweed together in the same body of water has provided long term economic sustainability for farmers in Japan. Similarly, in Bangladesh, cultivating fish and prawn directly in rice fields increases the productivity of all three crops.
Another solution to AMR is treating animals with traditional medicinal plants, as is commonly used by farmers of Vietnam and Indonesia. Probiotics are yet another options worth considering. Shifting farming strategies away from antibiotic use requires time, investment and short-term loss of productivity, but the results can be transformative, decreasing dependence on drugs and increasing income by diversifying the yield.