Ornamental Fish – Our Environmental Time Bomb

Delegates at the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) Annual Conference have been told that imported ornamental fish are posing a serious threat to Australia’s aquaculture industries and the environment. Professor Richard Whittington, Chair of Farm Animal Health at The University of Sydney warned it is unlikely that current controls over the importation of exotic fish will prevent the establishment of new pathogens and parasites with the potential to cause serious animal health problems in Australia. “Despite stringent quarantine protocols, the evidence is that diseases from ornamental fish are spreading across Australia,” Professor Whittington said. “In 2006, there were 22 species of alien ornamental fish with established breeding populations in the waterways of Australia. These have the potential to become invasive and alter the environment, much like carp, or become agents for the spread of disease.” Professor Whittington presented case studies of a number of infectious agents and parasites that have already been introduced to Australia including:

• A virus (Gourami iridovirus) introduced by the gourami goldfish that killed 90 per cent of murray cod in an aquaculture facility in 2003;
• A bacterial pathogen (Aeromonas salmonicida) associated with goldfish imported from Japan and now identified in native silver perch;
• A bacterial pathogen (Edwardsiella tarda) isolated from fighting fish which was identified as a cause of mortalities in farmed rainbow trout.

Professor Whittington said that the high number of imported species, a high prevalence of pathogens and parasites in imported fish, the lack of post-border quarantine, and the potential transmission of disease by asymptomatic carriers were all factors that led him to believe imported fish pose a continuing threat. “Either the international community must adopt policies that reduce the potential risk of spreading pathogens, or Australia should consider dramatically reducing the number of imported ornamental fish,” he said.

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