The heavy use of chemicals and antibiotics in aquaculture may result in disease outbreaks and even the collapse of the industry, the head of the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC) warns. "Chemical and drugs have been heavily used even if it is unnecessary to enhance fish culture and to control diseases in order to keep operations going," Dr. Chumnarn Pongsri, SEAFDEC Secretary'General, told an international workshop here on fish health management. "In the short-term, such practices appear to bring sizeable profit to operators (but) in severe cases, these could result in uncontrollable outbreaks of fish diseases in farms and industry," he said.

Icamina, P. M. (2012, March 16). Heavy Antibiotics, chemical abuse poison fish industry's health. Malaya Business Insight, pp. A1, A10.