>From the September/October issue of Spectrum Magazine - a publication that
is highly informative consisting mainly of news cuttings from other health
and environmental magazines (call (919)493-2181 for a $16 special for first
year of subscription) I found the following article, "Fish on Drugs":

"Over one billion people now depend upon fish as their main source of
animal protein, with billions more relying on it as an important part of
their diets.  As the world population grows, so will the demand and an
additional 16 million tons of fish annually will be needed by the year
2010.  Unfortunately, the wild fish catch from the oceans peaked in the
late 1980's, and there is little hope that it will ever return to those
levels again.
To meet the soaring demand, new methods of fish farming have been developed
to maximize production, and this has led to severe environmental problems.
For example, expansion of shrimp farms in developing countries had resulted
in a staggering loss of tidal flats, mangrove forests and wet lands where
the farms are commonly sited.
Because of overcrowding and unnatural conditions, disease is unavoidable in
commercially farmed fish, so fish farmers must rely on the use of drugs to
keep their stocks alive.  The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has approved
five drugs in food fish - Terramycine (an antibiotic), Sulfamerazine (an
antibiotic), Romet 30 (an antibiotic), Finquel (an anesthetic) and Formalin
(a parasiticide).
The FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) is responsible for approving
drugs for use in animals, but it does not carry out routine inspections for
enforcement purposes.  In 1991, the National Academy of Sciences concluded
that chemicals are not effectively controlled in fish farming under current
conditions, and advised that additional safety studies be conducted on
contaminant risks.
Under the FDA's Investigational New Animal Drug Exemptions, experimental
drugs can be used on fish.  These treated fish can later be sold on the
market, even though these experimental drugs have not yet received safety
testing.  Another drug-related risk comes from the numerous drugs permitted
by those countries from which we import much of our fish.  While the FDA
only considers 5 drugs adequately tested, European authorities have
approved 15 drugs, while Japan allows 24.
In related news: Due to public outcry over health safety issues, two
British supermarket chains have halted sales of fish-farmed salmon treated
with the pesticide ivermection used to kill sea lice."

Based on information in The Amicus Journal, Fall 1996; Vegetarian Journal,
July/August 1997; New Scientist, 5-10-97.

Best, Peter
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