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Tactical Research Fund: A review of the ecological impacts of selected antibiotics and antifoulants currently used in the Tasmanian salmonid farming industry and development of a research programme to evaluate the environmental impact of selected treatments.

Project number: 2007-246
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $52,560.00
Principal Investigator: Catriona Macleod
Organisation: University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Project start/end date: 1 Sep 2007 - 31 Dec 2008
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The Tasmanian salmonid industry has recently been faced with several significant production issues necessitating increased use of antibiotics and antifoulants. The effects of these chemicals on the local ecology and ecosystem function are currently poorly understood and without evidence to the contrary, it is difficult for the industry to refute the perception that such chemicals have a detrimental effect on the environment.

There is a large body of literature regarding the effects of antibiotics, however the information pertaining to aquaculture is limited. Improvements in husbandry and vaccine development have now all but eliminated the use of antibiotics in aquaculture overseas, consequently there have been few recent aquaculture specific studies, with even fewer studies on ecosystem effects, the available information largely focussing on environmental persistence and antibiotic resistance. However, there is quite a lot of information in the terrestrial livestock and medical areas on the comparative effects of various antibiotics as well as quite a substantial ecotoxicological literature. In contrast there is a substantial local literature on the environmental impacts of antifoulants and heavy metals. There is a need for a targeted review to establish environmental risk factors associated with current antibiotic and antifoulant usage and to develop an appropriate strategy to research and monitor ongoing impacts.

Some data on sediment residue levels for both antibiotics and antifoulants has been collected by the salmon industry in compliance with drug/chemical licensing permit conditions authorities and by the state government in response to concerns regarding antibiotic usage. So far this data has not been collated and has only been subjected to preliminary analysis; a comprehensive evaluation of this data would markedly improve our understanding of current impacts and help to determine what additional information may be required.

Objectives

1. Undertake a review of the international literature and current research to identify the existing state of knowledge regarding the environmental effects of antibiotics and antifoulants currently used or likely to be used in the Tasmanian salmonid farming industry.
2. Analyse local datasets on currently used antibiotics and antifoulants, collected in compliance with current licensing requirements, to determine what additional information is needed (if any) to appropriately evaluate the environmental impact of current management practices.
3. Develop an appropriate and cost effective research proposal to obtain the necessary information to evaluate the impact of current management strategies and design an appropriate ongoing monitoring programme.

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-86295-569-1
Author: Catriona Macleod
Industry
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Communities
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PROJECT NUMBER • 2018-197
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Developing FRDC’s 2020-2025 RD&E Plan

This report covers the second of two CSIRO contributions to the project FRDC 2018-197. This project was reviewing FRDC research objectives through a process that developed alternative scenarios of possible futures relevant to Australian fisheries. Discussed here is the development of a...
ORGANISATION:
Fisheries Research and Development Corporation (FRDC)
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2014-028
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Mud cockle (Katelysia spp.) stock enhancement/restoration: practical implementation and policy evaluation

This study was conducted to restore the Mud Cockle population in the Section Bank of Port River, South Australia, which had drastically decreased due to commercial fishing. Mud Cockles are important not only for commercial purposes but also for stabilizing sediment and reducing turbidity in the...
ORGANISATION:
SARDI Food Safety and Innovation
SPECIES
Industry
Adoption
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