Despite global capture-fishery production having plateaued since the late 1980's, global per-capita fish consumption has continued to rise over the last 30 years. This increase was supported by the rapid growth in aquaculture over this period and aquaculture remains the fastest growing food production system globally. In parallel with the growth in total production, there has also been a shift in the modalities of culture, with a growing trend of intensification in aquaculture. Fish kept under increasingly crowded and potentially physiologically stressful conditions are susceptible to disease emergence, often resulting in the application of antimicrobials (AM) in an attempt to mitigate pathogen outbreaks.
The inappropriate use of AMs creates selective pressures that favour the emergence of antimicrobial resistant (AMR) bacteria. Given the essential role that antimicrobials, and particularly antibiotics, play in human and veterinary medicine, AMR has been identified as a significant threat to global public health and food security. In parallel to the growing awareness of issues around AMR driven by recent initiatives in the World Health Organization, the World Organization for Animal Health and the Food and Agriculture Organisation, global research-funding partnerships and initiatives such as the IDRC's InnoVet AMR (a partnership with the UK Department of Health and Social Care's Global AMR Innovation Fund) have begun to mobilize funding resources to address AMR in livestock systems, including aquaculture.
AM use in aquaculture is the result of the interaction of multiple and often interacting biological, geographical, operational, social and regulatory characteristics and drivers (see Henriksson et al 2018 Sus Sci 13:1105-1120). However, effectively directing research resources for maximum impact, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, requires new ways of unpacking, integrating and visualising these factors at the country level to identify areas of greatest risk for AMR in global aquaculture. This paper presents the process and outcomes of a systematic mapping process to understand the prevalence and geographical distribution of bacterial genes known to infer AMR associated with aquaculture facilities. These data serve as a baseline of the reported distribution of AMR genes in global aquaculture to date, as well as potentially signal areas of concern for further research investment.
The systematic review will be limited to finfish and crustacean aquaculture, excluding extractive plant/algae and mollusc production systems. This paper will detail the protocol for the systematic review, including topic identification, study components, search string development, search strategy, article screening and study inclusion criteria and study mapping, and will share preliminary results.