Aquaculture production is experiencing geometric growth with attendant effects, therefore, fish health training and research, with a keen interest in the concepts of diseases occurrence (an external agent, a susceptible host, and an environment) becoming important. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan is one of the oldest in the Country and by extension, in Africa. Training of undergraduate Veterinary students started in the 1970s which is visibly reflected in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine’s prospectus of 1976-1977. The Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine (established in 1975) has since then taken up the training of students (Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and Postgraduates) in Fish health management.
The introduction of training on fish health was championed by Prof. Samuel Adewumi Agbede (now retired) who received his Master’s degree in Aquatic Veterinary Studies from the University of Stirling in 1981. Presently, the Fish and Wildlife Unit of the Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine has two (2) Professors, one Lecturer Grade I and two (2) Lecturer Grade II involved in the continuous training of students and conduct of research in several areas, including Fish disease Epidemiology food safety, toxicology and indeed one health since the unit is also charged with in training of students and research into epidemiology of wildlife disease, as well. In 2014, the Department organised a Fish Health Management Workshop for all stakeholders in the Aquaculture Sector in Nigeria.
To date, over two thousand (2,000) undergraduates and three hundred (300) Postgraduate Students have passed through fish health management training and are already involved in the aquaculture sector. Some of them are into research and training, Aquatic Veterinarians (involved in the diagnosis and treatment of fish diseases), fish production, Regulatory agencies like (National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), National Agricultural Quarantine Services (NAQS), among others), and entrepreneurs within Nigeria’s fish food chain.
The Fish and Wildlife Unit has also attracted grants from various Funders to execute researches in the area of Evaluation for Sustainability of Aquaculture Development in Nigeria, Climate and Global Change-related Impacts, Adaptations, and Vulnerability Assessments in selected aquatic ecosystems in Africa, Investigation into residues in feral and cultured fish and their products in Nigeria,, Antimicrobial Resistance, etc. Currently, there are two grant-based researches domiciled at the Fish and Wildlife Unit of the Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine. These are “Improving Biosecurity: A Science-based Approach to Manage Fish Disease Risks and Increase the Socio-economic Contribution of the Nigerian Catfish and Tilapia Industries” , a $625,045.00 USAID grant being executed in partnership with WorldFish, Malaysia and Mississippi State University, Mississippi, USA) and “No longer bugged by feed costs: Farming insects as sustainable and scalable Aquaculture feedstock to improve catfish (Clariidae) producers and consumers livelihoods food security in Nigeria” a $400,000 USAID funded project being executed in partnership with Michigan State University and Departments of fisheries and Agriculture Economies.
Aquatic and Wildlife medical training and research is evolving in the University of Ibadan as the Fish and Wildlife Unit of the Department of Veterinary Public Health and Preventive Medicine is championing the creation of a full-fledged department of Aquatic and Wildlife Medicine to fully integrate all the necessary units within the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine into an holistic and comprehensive training curricula for the teaching of Aquatic and Wildlife Medicine to better prepare future Veterinarians for this rapidly evolving field. This discipline is also vital for the “One Health” research agenda, since 75% of zoonotic disease have been linked to wildlife, including fish. Additionally in a bid to cohesively propagate this field, the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine through the Aquatic Veterinarians working in the Department registered a professional association (Association of Aquatic Veterinarians of Nigeria) in 2013. The association is affiliated to the Nigerian Veterinary Medical Association (NVMA), the umbrella body of registered Veterinary Surgeons in the Country.
Keywords: Aquatic, Wildlife, Veterinary Medicine, Medical Research, Training, Nigeria