Reared fish, farmed escapees and wild fish stocks—a triangle of pathogen transmission of concern to Mediterranean aquaculture management

Abstract

Although aquaculture in the Mediterranean is a relatively young industry, finfish diseases have been reported to cause considerable problems and mortalities among the farmed stocks. In general, the farming activity and the open design of Mediterranean aquaculture systems allow the transmission of infectious pathogens within and among farm facilities. Fish health and biosecurity programmes at farms have focused on the most obvious pathways for transmission of pathogens, i.e. through transport of infected farmed fish from hatcheries, infected equipment, staff and vessels, as well as through water currents. However, little attention has been devoted to the potential risk of pathogen and disease transmission in Mediterranean open-sea aquaculture through movements of fish. The present study focuses on the importance of considering possible pathogen transmission between reared fish, farmed escapees and farm-aggregated fish when making management decisions.

Simulating escapes of farmed sea bass from Mediterranean open sea-cages: low recaptures by local fishermen

“…However, there is a lack of knowledge about their dispersal and survival capabilities. A previous study on escaped sea bass from Mediterranean farms demonstrated their ability to survive for up to 3 weeks in the wild, moving quickly and repeatedly between and among several farms (Arechavala‐Lopez et al., ), suggesting a risk of pathogen transmissions to nearby farmed and wild fish stocks (Arechavala‐Lopez et al., , ). Escaped sea bass could also lead to other potential ecological risks through predation and resource competition with wild populations, as already reported for escaped sea bream (Arechavala‐Lopez et al., ).…”

Recapturing escaped fish from marine aquaculture is largely unsuccessful: alternatives to reduce the number of escapees in the wild

“…These include heightened risk of disease transfer from escapees to wild populations (Arechavala‐Lopez et al . ; Glover et al . ), genetic introgression from farmed escapees into native populations (Glover et al .…”

Testing the Waters of an Aquaculture Index of Well-Being

“…Infectious agents such as norovirus and other environmental pathogens contaminate products, thus threatening markets and impacting public confidence (e.g., [10][11][12]). Ecosystem and environmental health concerns have arisen due to the prospect of transmission of infectious agents between cultured and wild stocks [13]. The effects on the ecological functions of drugs and chemicals used to treat disease (e.g., [14][15][16]), public health issues (e.g., [17][18][19][20]) or impacts on wild species genetic integrity (e.g., [21,22]) are other examples of health concerns.…”