The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy released a report on March 21 by Dr. Charles Benbrook entitled Antibiotic Drug Use in U.S. Aquaculture. The report estimates that 204,000 to 433,000 pounds of antibiotics are used annually in the production of seafood sold in the U.S. This includes antibiotics from the same classes that doctors depend on for treating sick humans.
There is also a remarkable lack of information about the amount of fish farm drug use in the U.S. There is no official reporting system of antibiotic use in aquaculture, despite recent scientific developments that have increased the potency of these drugs. The report found that total catfish antibiotic use is estimated to fall between 126,000 and 252,000 pounds a year. Trout and salmon production account for between 63,000 and 104,600 pounds a year, with use in salmon production rising. Use in other species fell within the range of an estimated 15,200 to 76,000 pounds annually. While drug use on a poundage basis has declined, drugs that are more potent at smaller dosages are being used in aquaculture.
The most common route of delivery of legal antibiotics to fish occurs through mixing with specifically formulated feed. Three antibiotics are approved for use in U.S. aquaculture - oxytetracycline HCL, sulfamerazine, and a drug combination containing sulfadimethozine and ormetoprim. Antibiotic use is frequently used in fish farms because over-crowding accelerates the spread of disease.
The report also finds that there is little enforcement by U.S. regulators in checking imported seafood for antibiotic levels. Over 68 percent of all seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, most of which is industrially produced. Fish, and especially shrimp, produced in industrial farms in other countries face even fewer regulations than the U.S.
The full report, "Antibiotic Drug Use in U.S. Aquaculture," can be downloaded here.
