Aquaculture for all

Weekly Overview: Norwegian Aquaculture Antibiotic Use at Lowest Level

Salmonids Health Water quality +6 more

ANALYSIS - According the 2014 Fish Health Report from the Norwegian Veterinary Institute, Norway's antibiotic use in aquaculture is at its lowest since the 1970's, when fish farming really took off.

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The report also documents that, whilst diseases caused by bacteria are under good control, Norway has seen a recent rise in viral diseases.

"There was a sharp increase of pancreas disease (PD) in 2014. It was the highest number of registered cases of PD so far," said Atle Lillehaug, researcher and project manager at the National Veterinary Institute.

There was also a moderate increase in infectious salmon anemia (ISA) cases and Ameobic Gill Disease (AGD) has continued to spread.

This year, the US's Lake Erie is expected to suffer some of the worst harmful algal bloom's (HAB) in years.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have predicted that the 2015 western Lake Erie harmful algal bloom season could become the second most severe behind the record-setting 2011 bloom.

The bloom, which will peak in September, is expected to measure 8.7 on the severity index with a range from 8.1 to potentially as high as 9.5.

In other news, are you thinking about furthering your career in aquaculture? The Postgraduate Diploma/MSc in Sustainable Aquaculture from the University of St Andrews and TheFishSite has a few bursaries remaining.

The bursaries, from the Scottish Funding Council, cover 70 per cent of the course fees and are available to anyone in the EU (excluding England).

The deadline for applicants is 20 August 2015.

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