Fish on Drugs

Over one billion people now depend upon fish as their main source of animal protein, with billions more relying on it as an important part of their diets. As the world population grows, so will the demand and an  additional 16 million tons of fish annually will be needed by the year 2010. Unfortunately, the wild fish catch from the oceans peaked in the late 1980s, and there is little hope that it will ever return to those levels again.

To meet the soaring demand, new methods of fish farming have been developed to maximize production, and this has led to severe environmental problems. For example, expansion of shrimp farms in developing countries had resulted in a staggering loss of tidal flats, mangrove forests and wetlands where the farms are commonly sited.

Because of overcrowding and unnatural conditions, disease is unavoidable in commercially farmed fish, so fish farmers must rely on the use of drugs to keep their stocks alive. The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved five drugs for use in food fish—Terramycine (an antibiotic), Sulfamerazine (an antibiotic), Romet 30 (an antibiotic), Finquel (an anesthetic) and Formalin (a parasiticide).

The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is responsible for approving drugs for use in animals, but it does not carry out routine inspections for enforcement purposes. In 1991, the National Academy of Sciences concluded that chemicals are not effectively controlled in fish farming under current conditions, and advised that additional safety studies be conducted on contaminant risks.

Under the FDA's Investigational New Animal Drug Exemptions, experimental drugs can be used on fish. These treated fish can later be sold on the market, even though these experimental drugs have not yet received safety testing. Another drug-related risk comes from the numerous drugs permitted by those countries from which we import much of our fish. While the FDA only considers 5 drugs adequately tested, European authorities have approved 15 drugs, while Japan allows 24.

In related news: Due to public outcry over health safety issues, two British supermarket chains have halted sales of fish-farmed salmon treated with the pesticide ivermectin used to kill sea lice.

[Editor: Perhaps the safest choice, aside from having your own fishpond or fishing in waters known to be unpolluted, is to consume ocean fish whose habit is far from polluted shores.] Based on information in: The Amicus Journal, Fall 1996; Vegetarian Journal, July/August 1997; New Scientist, 5-10-97