Another myth tackled: “Farmed fish are full of harmful antibiotics”
The idea that farmed salmon contain harmful antibiotics or other nasty compounds has been promoted by such extreme environmentalists as Alexandra Morton- an American crusader now residing in British Columbia and who erroneously stated that a dead whale was infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria from farmed salmon- as well as the Canadian icon David Suzuki, who once proclaimed farmed salmon to be “poison”, and something he would never feed to his kids. But government food safety agencies have repeatedly said that most fish- including both farmed and wild salmon- should be consumed regularly by everybody- including pregnant women. Few if any of the environmentalists occupied with the criticism of the farmed salmon industry go out of their way to acknowledge the fact that the use of antibiotics in salmon aquaculture has dropped significantly as new vaccines and better husbandry has reduced the need for medicines in many regions.
In places like British Columbia, the fish farmer must document that a government-imposed withdrawal time must have passed before any farmed salmon will be allowed to be processed and sold following the unlikely use of antibiotics. Any such use of medicines must be authorized by a licensed veterinarian.
Says NOAA:
Antibiotic use in aquaculture has all but disappeared in the U.S., due to better husbandry and vaccines that have been developed for the major bacterial diseases. While good management practices and vaccines alone are usually enough to prevent or control disease, a farmer may, in consultation with a licensed veterinarian, use a limited number of aquatic animal drugs including antibiotics, in the case where they have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat specific conditions. The use of antibiotics for non-therapeutic purposes in aquaculture is prohibited by law.
- Are antibiotics fed to fish to improve growth (or for any reason other than disease)?
In the United States, antibiotics are not fed to fish for non-therapeutic reasons through their feed or any other mechanism. The use of antibiotics for non-therapeutic purposes in aquaculture is prohibited by law. Incidentally, antibiotics do not improve growth or efficiency in fish (like they do in cows, swine, and chickens). However, antibiotics have been known to be added to fish food in other countries.
- Are antibiotics used at all in U.S. aquaculture?
As vaccines have been developed for the major diseases that impact aquaculture (including salmon), antibiotic use has all but disappeared in the U.S. There occasionally is still a need to use them in special cases approved by a vet. All drugs, including antibiotics, used in aquatic species farmed in the U.S. have been proven safe and effective and are undetectable at the time of harvest (as prescribed by FDA withdrawal times). At present, only three antibiotics are registered and sold for use in the United States as feed additives for disease control in farmed fish. The use of parasiticides is similarly restricted by FDA regulations.
