Charting the Future: Advanced Technologies for Sustainable Parasite Control in Aquaculture

Area of Science:

• Aquaculture
• Parasitology
• Sustainable Agriculture

Background:

• Aquaculture is a rapidly growing food sector facing significant challenges from parasite infections.
• Traditional chemical treatments for parasites are becoming less effective due to drug resistance and cause environmental pollution.
• Parasite control is crucial for aquaculture productivity and sustainability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review current advances in sustainable parasite control strategies for aquaculture.
• To identify knowledge and application gaps in emerging parasite control methods.
• To outline future research directions for effective and sustainable parasite management.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of emerging parasite control strategies in aquaculture.
• Synthesis of current research on natural products, gene editing, immunotherapy, nanotechnology, and biosensors.
• Analysis of the potential and limitations of these novel approaches.

Main Results:

• Emerging methods like natural products, gene editing, and nanotechnology show potential for sustainable parasite control.
• These novel strategies can help prevent drug resistance and reduce environmental impact.
• Current approaches face challenges including unstable efficacy, limited field validation, and uncertain long-term safety.

Conclusions:

• Novel strategies are essential for sustainable aquaculture parasite control, moving beyond traditional chemicals.
• Further research and validation are needed to overcome current limitations and enable practical application.
• Addressing efficacy, field applicability, and safety is key to developing reliable, sustainable parasite management in aquaculture.