Aquaculture has a long history dating back to 2000 BC in China. While it provides important health benefits like protein and nutrients, it can also negatively impact public health through various contaminants. Key contaminants of concern from aquaculture include antibiotics, which contribute to antibiotic resistance, and persistent organic pollutants that accumulate up the food chain. Ensuring safe aquaculture practices through measures like proper hygiene, water quality management, and clean equipment is important to protect public health.

1. Public Health and Aquaculture
Prepared by
ABIDA SAEED
DDF

2. What is Aquaculture?
• Aquaculture, also known as aquafarming,
• “The controlled cultivation of aquatic
organisms such as fish, crustaceans,
mollusks, algae and other organisms
of value such as aquatic plants.”
• The rearing of aquatic animals or the
cultivation of aquatic plants for food.

3. The History of Aquaculture
• Aquaculture has become the buzzword in the fisheries industry in recent times,
but this form of farming has a long and storied history. It is believed to have
begun in China as early as 2000 B.C.
• Since this point, the practice of aquaculture slowly began to spread to the rest of
our planet, starting specifically in other parts of Asia and then Europe.
• The drastic increase in global demand for seafood has led to an explosion in
aquaculture over the last decade.

4. Benefits of Aquaculture
• Major source of animal protein and micronutrients.
• It is a major source of cheap protein which has saved a significant proportion
of the world from protein deficiency.
• Seafood is recognized as a good source of lean protein, omega-3 fatty acids,
and other nutrients that have a positive effect on human health.
• Preserves the population of aquatic plants and organisms. ...
• Keeps biodiversity and the ecosystem intact. ...
• Job creation.

5. Aquaculture Pros
• Meeting Global Needs. ...
• Flexible Method. ... A culture of sustainable fishing.
• Boost of Income. ...
• Decrease in Commercial Fishing and Fish Farming....
• Saving Endangered Species....
• Bridging the Gap of Agriculture....
• Improving Nutrition. ...

6. Aquaculture Cons
• Threat of Invasive Species
• Water pollution
• Waste management of fish farms
• Feeding frenzy
• Uncontrolled growth

7. What is Public Health?
• According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the goal
of public health is
• To prevent disease
• To promote health
• To prolong life among the population

9. Aquaculture may affect human health and nutrition
• By reducing wild fish populations (because of its use in
aquaculture feed)
• By causing environmental impacts
• Spreading fish diseases
• Which reduce future aquaculture or fisheries production.

10. Aquaculture
Potential role in enhanced public health
• Seafood production through aquaculture is seen as an
important piece for enhanced public health in the future.
• But the aquaculture industry is urged to not go the same path
as the terrestrial animal food production industries with respect
to antibiotic use and other practices that can threaten food
safety in an effort to maximize production.

11. • Dr. Fry et al., (2014) presented a research based publication
“Public Health Perspectives on Aquaculture” which states
“increasing seafood consumption has been proposed
as part of a strategy to combat the current non-
communicable disease (NCD) pandemic..”.
• NCDs are health issues associated with lifestyle and include
obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.

13. Public Health Challenges
Contaminants in Seafood
• Contaminants exist in wild and farmed seafood.
• The nature of contamination depends upon the species, geographic
region, animal age and diet, and production practices.
• Among farmed seafood, the main contaminants of concern are
Methylmercury
Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
Production drugs

14. • Farmed fish acquire POPs and Mercury from consuming fish meal
and oil, which are feed products made from small, wild pelagic fish
such as herring and sardines.
• POPs and Mercury in the ocean come from atmospheric deposition
of emissions, mainly from the combustion of fossil fuels for mercury
and agricultural pesticide application for POPs.
• POPs and Mercury in coastal waters come from discharge/runoff
from industrial sources and from contaminated land and sediments.
Sources of Contaminants

15. Antibiotics
• Fish farms frequently use antibiotics to control disease in their
crowded pens. By eating fish that have been treated with
antibiotics, consumers may be ingesting harmful levels of
antibiotic residues.
• More importantly, the use of antibiotics in aquaculture increases
the risk of harmful bacteria becoming resistant to specific
antibiotics, undermining the effectiveness of those antibiotics in
treating human illness.
• Finally, antibiotics used in aquaculture often enter the
environment, where they contaminate wild seafood. In one
study, drug residues in wild fish were found to exceed Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) safety levels.

16. Fungicides
• The chemical malachite green is used as a fungicide to prevent the
growth of fungus on fish eggs.
• Malachite green is believed to be toxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic
in animals.
• Although its use in aquaculture is banned in the U.S., it is still used in
many countries that contribute to our seafood supply.
• The FDA does not test imported salmon for this chemical, despite
evidence that our imported salmon may be contaminated.

17. Dyes
• It is estimated that 95% of Atlantic salmon is farmed, and almost
all of it is dyed pink to make it more palatable to consumers.
• Although the effects of these dyes on health are not well known,
recent studies have indicated possible links between artificial
food colorings and hyperactivity in children as well as retinal
damage.

18. Persistent Organic Pollutants
• Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as PCBs (polychlorinated
biphenyls) and dioxins are chemical compounds that resist
biodegradation and therefore “persist” in the environment.
• As such, they tend to bioaccumulate up the food chain and can cause
significant health concerns for both humans and the environment,
associated with increasing the risk of cancer, disrupting the endocrine
system, and contributing to developmental and reproductive problems.

19. Nutrition
• Farmed fish contain lower levels of protein, a lower ratio of
omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids, and higher levels of total fat.
• Unless you know where your seafood comes from, it might not
be offering the health benefit you think it does.

20. • Among wild-caught fish, methylmercury, heavy metals, and POPs
are the most concerning contaminants with regard to public health.
• These contaminants are primarily found in apex predatory fish such
as shark or swordfish, and in bottom feeders such as tilefish.
• These fish acquire contaminants as a result of bio-magnification up
the food web, and from decades of intensive industrial development
in the northern hemisphere.
Examples of contaminated aquatic animals

21. • Filter-feeding molluscs, like oysters and mussels, which are eaten raw
could form greater public health risks if grown in contaminated waters.
• Oyster and mussel culturists should certainly avoid such areas or take the
necessary action to prevent discharge of contaminants into the farming
areas.
• The process of depuration that is adopted in organized shell-fish farming
and the certification of the quality of shellfish products are additional
measures that prevent public health hazards caused by aquaculture.

22. • Farmed salmon tends to have lower levels of POPs and mercury when fish-
based feed is sourced from regions of the world where small pelagic fish
have fewer contaminants, such as South America, compared with small
pelagic fish from Northern Europe, which have higher levels of contaminants.
• Some fish processors are implementing activated carbon filters to remove
POPs from fish meal and oil as a means of reducing contaminants in farmed
salmon.
• Another approach to reducing POPs in farmed fish is to reduce the use of
fish meal and oil in aquaculture.
How to remove contaminants?

23. Precautions
• Levels of mercury, other heavy metals, and POPs in wild-caught
fish are increasing, therefore;
• Consuming these fish is not advised by national governments
• Epidemiologic studies have quantified the risks from consuming these
fish
• Particularly among vulnerable groups such as pregnant women, in
populations that consume large amounts of seafood.

24. FIVE KEYS TO SAFER AQUACULTURE
PRODUCTS TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH

26. FIVE KEYS TO SAFER AQUACULTURE
PRODUCTS TO PROTECT PUBLIC HEALTH
• KEY 1
• Practice Good Personal Hygiene

27. KEY 2:
Clean the Pond Site

28. KEY 3:
Manage Water Quality

29. KEY 4:
Keep FishHealthy

30. KEY 5:
Use Clean Harvest
EquipmentandContainers

31. Conclusion
• In addition to risking both fish and environmental health, aquacultural
practices endanger human health.
• Each year, aquaculture producers lose large amounts of farm-raised
seafood because of infectious disease outbreaks, which cost billions of
dollars, impact international trade, and generate negative publicity for the
aquaculture industry.
• Seafood safety is a growing concern with the rapidly expanding role of
aquaculture in providing food for societies worldwide.

32. Conclusion
• Ensuring that a healthy and safe product reaches the consumer is a
primary goal of aquaculturists.
• Scientists conduct research to better understand the links between the
microbiology and ecology of growing waters and human health.
• Studies range from developing better tools to accurately assess public
health risks to characterizing the ecology, environmental tolerance
and persistence of human pathogens and toxins found in the
aquatic environment.

33. THANK YOU