Aquaculture disinfection is used as a common aquaculture disease management tool. It may be used as a normal practice in all biosecurity programs that are designed to exclude diseases as well as routine sanitary measures used to reduce diseases within the farms. It may also be used to eradicate diseases. The specific reason for aquaculture disinfection is to determine the disinfection strategy to be used and how to apply it.
Disinfection of aquaculture farms involves applying chemical treatments in recommended concentration and for sufficient periods to disinfect and kill pathogenic organisms that would otherwise get into the surrounding water systems. The inherent toxicity of the disinfectants prohibits the safe use of open water systems or open water. It is important to disinfect tank holding facilities and hatcheries. In addition, some establishments are sea water-based and compounds produced during the disinfection of seawater should be disposed of carefully.
Prevention of the spread of diseases
The direct disposal of infected aquaculture animal populations or waste products derived from infected populations into receiving water is a dangerous practice that has been proven to facilitate the spread of diseases from farmed populations to wild animals and to neighboring farms. It is, therefore, prohibited. With a cultured population, when the decision is made to dispose of a population due to the presence of diseases, the stock in the pond or tank should be harvested or killed humanely. The water in the pond or tank should be disinfected by a reputable water solutions company. The emptied pond or tank should then be disinfected before restocking.
Sanitation and biosecurity
A lot of aquaculture establishments employ various measures that use a wide range of disinfection methods for disease control and prevention. These measures may be part of the routine biosecurity program of a farm that may be designed to exclude specific diseases as well as serve as general disease and pest exclusion measures.
Disinfecting larvae and eggs
Disinfecting eggs with iodine can be done for various fish species. However, it is most commonly used for eggs of salmon, char and trout. These are fish from the Salmonidae family. Although it is generally effective for decontaminating surfaces of newly fertilised eggs and eyed eggs, the use of disinfectants should not be relied upon to prevent the transmission of bacterial pathogens and viral pathogens that may be present in the newly fertilised eggs and eyed eggs.
Salmonid fish-eyed eggs
There are different protocols used to disinfect salmonid fish-eyed eggs. Generally, the pH of the solutions of iodophor product should be between six and eight. At a pH of six or less, the toxicity for newly fertilised or eyed eggs increases and at eight or more, the disinfection efficacy reduces. It is, therefore, important to control the pH by adding sodium hydro carbonate. It is also recommended that the eggs be properly rinsed in clean water before and after the aquaculture disinfection process or 0.9% saline water before and after disinfection and a solution of iodophor giving 100 parts per million iodine in the 0.9% saline and free from organic matter to be used as a disinfection solution.
