FAO expert reveals existing problems in global fisheries sector

The aquaculture and fisheries sector is developing rapidly on a global scale, but the main issue is growing healthy products in this sector, Thomas Ashley Shipton, Aquaculture Nutrition and Feed Development Expert at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said at panel titled "The Role of Food Systems: Integration of Human, Animal and Environmental Health" organized within the framework of the conference World Food Safety Day: Science in Action.

Report quotes him as saying if aquaculture is carried out in clean waters, the animals raised in these waters are also healthy: "The main focus should be on properly implementing the processing of fishery products."

The official added that aquaculture is a somewhat different field: "Fish or other aquatic animals are kept and grown in large numbers in small areas or in limited amounts of water. This leads to the emergence and spread of various diseases. In this case, producers tend to use chemicals, thereby increasing the risk of contamination of the final product during food processing. For example, problems with bacteria are observed. Some of these bacteria can be in the water itself - that is, when water enters the farm. Others enter the farm from people or materials. Viruses can also cause problems.

Currently, one of the main issues in the field of aquaculture is the use of chemicals, especially antibiotics, and the problems they create for the environment. For many years, we have significantly reduced the use of antibiotics in aquaculture and have made progress in this area. But I think that, especially in countries trying to rapidly develop their systems, when there is no proper legal framework, farmers tend to use antibiotics as a universal solution for everything. The main issue is the protection of bio-secure farms that promote the raising of healthy animals. Because when animals are healthy, diseases do not spread, and we achieve the growth rate we want."