RECOMMENDATIONS

  1. More complete utilization of fish processing waste for value added by-products is essential and desirable from two perspectives. First, reduction of effluent waste is environmentally friendly while reducing the chances for the introduction of aquaculture pathogens into wild stocks. Secondly, the production of valuable by products can help to reduce the overall operating costs of fish farms.
  2. More quantitative data need to be collected on the destruction of potentially harmful bacteria and viruses sometimes associated with aquaculture operations. In particular, rapid and reliable assays of viral numbers is essential to establish the effects of processing (times, temperatures, pH levels, ionic strengths and chemical constituents in aquaculture waste streams).
  3. New and innovative technologies must be thoroughly investigated for their ability to destroy fish pathogens. Examples of such technologies include the thermophile composting of fish waste (Section 3.3) and the use of bacterial fermentations such as described in Section 3.2 to possibly reduce re-infection upon feeding.
  4. More work needs to be done to improve the efficiency and lower the costs of land-based aquaculture which are "closed systems" with total water re-use. No doubt, improvements on water treatment technologies such as clarification, ozonation and ultraviolet irradiation, can make these techniques more applicable and at a reasonable cost.
  5. Education is of primary importance. It is clear that many aquaculture operators do not understand the serious implications of not implementing biosecurity strategies, quantitative assessment of risks, constant surveillance and detailed record keeping. This is particularly important in tropical aquaculture operations where predators, scavengers and poachers can pose serious threats in the transportation of viruses from one site to another.
  6. Another important aspect of training and education should be to stress the importance of identifying and separating "high risk" from "low risk" waste streams from aquaculture operations.