[Veterinarians focus on Aquaculture]
At veterinary colleges in Japan, students take only one credit in fish pathology. It is a minor field in which only a few questions are asked in the national veterinary examinations. However, in the past five years, many veterinarians have focused on aquaculture. The reason for this is “the Strategy for the Growth Industry of Aquaculture in Japan” published by the MAFF in 2020. This strategy is a comprehensive strategy developed based on data on domestic and international needs for Japanese aquaculture products, covering everything from production to marketing and export. This means that Japan will make a full-fledged effort to promote the aquaculture industry in the future.
[Fishery Production]
According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the global wild caught fisheries production has remained flat from around 1990 to the present. However, the ratio of aquaculture production (the ratio of aquaculture production to the total of wild caught fisheries production and aquaculture production), which was around 10% around 1970, has increased rapidly since 1990 and now exceeds 50%. This means that the global fisheries are shifting to aquaculture. On the other hand, Japan’s wild caught fisheries production peaked around 1990 and declined sharply, and is now about 1/3 of its peak level. Aquaculture production increased from around 1970, but has remained flat to date.
Looking at aquaculture production by country and species, Norway’s aquaculture production is dominated by marine fisheries, while China’s aquaculture production is dominated by inland water fisheries On the other hand, Japan’s aquaculture production is weak in fish, with algae and shellfish accounting for about 3/4 of the total.
[Fish species and Regional characteristics]
The species of fish farmed in Japan are extremely diverse. The major animal species in the livestock industry are cattle, pigs, and pigeons, but fish are classified into more than 10 orders. We need to learn several dozen species of fish, even just the major species that cause fish diseases. This classification is mainly anatomical and is not always consistent with classification by specificity and immunity to pathogens and reaction and persistence to pharmaceuticals. This inconsistency often leads to confusion when considering target fish species for fishery pharmaceuticals.
In the marine aquaculture, sea bass species are primarily farmed in the warm-water areas from the Kii-peninsula to Shikoku and Kyushu. In some cases, salmonids are farmed at sea in the cold-water areas of the Tohoku region. In inland water aquaculture, ayu-fish are farmed in inland areas, and eels are raised in the Tokai and Kyushu regions.
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