Farm size as a factor in hydrodynamic transmission of pathogens in aquaculture fish production

Aquaculture Environment Interactions

关键词: Farm size;    Pathogen transmission;    Hydrodynamics;   

DOI  :  10.3354/aei00030

学科分类：生物科学（综合）

来源: Inter-Research

【 摘 要 】

ABSTRACT: Global aquaculture production has rapidly increased over recent decades, primarily through the increase in production per farm unit. However, size (biomass) may be a factor in the transmission of infectious diseases between hydrodynamically linked fish farms. A combined epidemiological–simplified hydrodynamic model is used to demonstrate that as farm units increase they experience higher numbers of infections caused by a range of pathogen characteristics. The model demonstrates that as farm size increases in areas where faster currents prevail, there is a need to increase the separation distance between farms to prevent pathogen transmission. A comparison of production regimes demonstrates, however, that fewer, highly separated, larger farms reduce overall losses compared to numerous smaller farms in close proximity to each other.

【 授权许可】

CC BY