Rapid development of fish culture in marine cages has been associated with an emergence of parasitic diseases. There is a general trend to an increase in infections with ectoparasites with direct life cycles and a reduced diversity of parasites in aquaculture. Some mariculture creates conditions that are similar to serial passage experiments, which are used to study adaptation during experimental evolution of pathogens. In particular, increased density of fish, repeated introduction of naive hosts, homogenous host populations, fast growth and a potential decrease in genetic diversity are attributes of both aquaculture and serial passage experiments. Some free-living organisms, for example Neoparamoeba spp. and Uronema spp. parasitise fish in culture, but have not been reported from wild populations. Farming fish in marine cages can increase the risk of outbreaks of parasitic diseases, including those caused by opportunistic parasites. However, aquaculture has the potential to control parasitic diseases through selective breeding, vaccination and general fish health management.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	parasites, aquaculture, experimental evolution, Neoparamoeba, Uronema, amoebic gill disease, swimmer syndrome
Research Division:	Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences
Research Group:	Fisheries sciences
Research Field:	Aquaculture
Objective Division:	Animal Production and Animal Primary Products
Objective Group:	Fisheries - aquaculture
Objective Field:	Fisheries - aquaculture not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Nowak, BF (Professor Barbara Nowak)
ID Code:	45379
Year Published:	2007
Web of Science® Times Cited:	80
Deposited By:	TAFI - Aquaculture
Deposited On:	2007-08-01
Last Modified:	2021-03-19
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