Project: Consequences of antimicrobials and antiparasitics administration in fish farming for aquatic ecosystems
| Acronym | CONTACT (Reference Number: ID 412) |
| Duration | 01/09/2021 - 31/08/2024 |
| Project Topic | Aquaculture is an important source for food, nutrition, income and livelihoods for millions of people around the globe. Intensive fish farming is often associated with pathogen outbreaks and therefore high amounts of veterinary drugs are used worldwide. As in many other environments, mostly application of antimicrobials triggers the development of (multi)resistant microbiota. This process might be fostered by co-selection as a consequence of the additional use of antiparasitics. Usage of antimicrobials in aquaculture does not only affect the cultured fish species, but - to a so far unknown extent - also aquatic ecosystems connected to fish farms including microbiota from water and sediment as well as its eukaryotes. Effects include increases in the number of (multi)resistant microbes, as well as complete shifts in microbial community structure and function. This dysbiosis might have pronounced consequences for the functioning of aquatic ecosystems. Thus in the frame of this project we want to study consequences of antimicrobial/-parastic application in aquaculture for the cultured fish species as well as for the aquatic environments. To consider the variability of aquaculture practices worldwide four showcases representing typical systems from the tropics, the Mediterranean and the temperate zone will be studied including freshwater and marine environments. For one showcase a targeted mitigation approach to reduce the impact on aquatic ecosystems will be tested. |
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Project Results (after finalisation) |
The overall concept is based on the idea to study the effects of common antimicrobials and antiparasitics used in fish farming worldwide in four showcases across different climatic zones. Each showcase is based on model experiments in closed pool systems and the analysis in "real world systems" at monitoring sites. The selection of the fish species has been based on commercial importance. For each showcase besides the selected fish species also consequences for non-targted organisms from the respective aquatic environment will be studied during the monitoring program. The four showcases include: (1) The tropical to subtropical climatic zone (Brazil) with a focus on freshwater systems and nile tilapia (Orechromis niloticus) (2) The temperate zone (Germany), with a focus on trouts (rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), brown trout (Salmo trutta fario)) in freshwater systems (3) The Mediterranean region (Israel), with gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) and purple sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) as a model in marine systems. (4) The temperate-subpolar area (Norway), with salmonids (Salmo salar and Salmo trutta trutta) in marine settings. |
| Network | AquaticPollutants |
| Call | 1st AquaticPollutants Joint Call 2020 |
Project partner
| Number | Name | Role | Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen - German Research Center for Environmental Health (GmbH) | Coordinator | Germany |
| 2 | Technical University of Denmark | Partner | Denmark |
| 3 | University of Campinas | Partner | Brazil |
| 4 | Ecole Centrale de Lyon / Université de Lyon | Partner | France |
| 5 | The National Center for Mariculture, Israel | Partner | Israel |