In 2003, the Alaska walleye pollock industry reported product quality issues attributed to an unspecified parasite in fish muscle. Using molecular and histological methods, we identified the parasite in Bering Sea pollock as Ichthyophonus. Infected pollock were identified throughout the study area, and prevalence was greater in adults than in juveniles. This study not only provides the first do...

Little is known about the environmental conditions that allow Francisella noatunensis subsp. orientalis, a worldwide emergent bacterial fish pathogen, to colonize and infect wild and cultured fish. We evaluated the effect of temperature and salinity on the infectivity of F. noatunensis subsp. orientalis in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus (L). Immersion challenges of tilapia with F. noatunens...

Parasitic diseases are harmful and limiting factors in breeding and rearing ornamental fish industry. In this study, 400 apparently healthy ornamental fishes from five species (each species 80 specimens) including: Goldfish (Carassius auratus), guppy (Poecilia reticulate), angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare), discus (Symphsodon discus) and sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna) was obtained from a l...

Bioactive marine natural products can be defined as biologically active products, both secondary metabolites as well as enzymes, lipids and heteropolysaccharides derived from marine sources. Marine natural products have been found to be an important source of drugs and drug leads. These natural products are secondary metabolites and enhance survival fitness and may serve as chemical weapons use...

The Mekong Delta in Vietnam is one of the most productive aquaculture regions in the world, in which the red tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) industry is a small-scale industry that mainly supplies local markets in the delta region. Little is known about the frequency of mortality events and health management in this sector. We describe red tilapia floating cage production systems in the Mekong Delta...

Ornamental fishes are among the most popular and fastest growing categories of pets in the United States (U.S.). The global scope and scale of the ornamental fish trade and growing popularity of pet fish in the U.S. are strong indicators of the myriad economic and social benefits the pet industry provides. Relatively little is known about the microbial communities associated with these ornament...

Fish skins constitute an important fraction of the enormous amount of wastes produced by the fish processing industry, part of which may be valorized through the extraction of gelatins. This research exploited the extraction and characterization of gelatins from the skin of three seawater fish species, namely yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), blue shark (Prionace glauca), and greenland halibu...

Endocrine-immune system interactions have been widely demonstrated in mammals, whereas in fish, these relationships remain unclear. Of the organs that constitute the endocrine system, the pineal gland and its secretory product melatonin act in the synchronization of daily and seasonal rhythms in most vertebrates, including fish. Seasonal differences in immunocompetence and disease prevalence ha...

It has become common practice in many laboratories in Europe to introduce the criterion "moribund" to reduce the suffering in fish acute lethality tests. Fish with severe sublethal symptoms might be declared moribund and are removed from the test as soon as this occurs (premature discontinuation of experiment). Moribund fish affect main study outcomes as the median lethal concentration (LC50) d...

Salmon lice, Lepeophtheirus salmonis, are naturally occurring parasites of salmon in sea water. Intensive salmon farming provides better conditions for parasite growth and transmission compared with natural conditions, creating problems for both the salmon farming industry and, under certain conditions, wild salmonids. Salmon lice originating from farms negatively impact wild stocks of salmonid...