Antimicrobial resistance in aquaculture and fisheries - Status and way forward

Fish is a rich source of high quality and cheap source of animal protein that is consumed by a significantly large population worldwide. With the increase in demand for consumption, there are efforts to increase fish production. The production in both the capture fisheries and aquaculture has increased tremendously over the past many years to meet the growing demand globally. One major drawback of intensive aquaculture is higher incidence of diseases, which can lead to the increased use of antimicrobial agents for their control. These antimicrobial agents are used directly into the aquaculture ponds that contaminate the environment as well. Indiscriminate use of antimicrobials in the environment is known to impact the microbial ecology as well as confer selection pressure which leads to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in microorganisms. In the present technical article, the authors discuss the current national and international status of the fisheries sector with respect to antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance in microorganisms of aquatic origin. Further, few strategies that can be implemented in the fisheries sector to mitigate the burden of AMR are also listed.