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  • Essay / Malaysian Aquaculture Sector: Analysis of Current Issues

    Table of ContentsCurrent Issues in Malaysian Aquaculture SectorPollution and Climate ChangePresence of Invasive Alien SpeciesAntibiotic ResistanceIncreasing Influence of Negative MediaConclusionReferencesAquaculture is so important in Malaysia's economic growth and stability that all the current problems and challenges facing this sector must be seriously considered and studied. This aquaculture essay addresses four current issues in the aquaculture industry from papers and articles published in 2019, including pollution and climate change, the presence of invasive alien species, antibiotic resistance, and the increasing negative influence of the media on the aquaculture process and its products. Reliable databases and sources were searched for as part of the methodology, such as Department of Statistics Malaysia, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Wiley Online Library and the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get the original essay Excluding other aquaculture production, the demand for fish alone is expected to increase by 1.3 million to 1.9 million tonnes by 2020. the forecast was a calculated government target included in the national agri-food policy. This means that aquaculture will contribute RM49.1 billion to the gross national income (GNI). To achieve this, Malaysia needs to supplement the current average aquaculture production of 525,000 tonnes by 33.5% to meet the projected demand by 2020. This is proving to be a daunting task with many upcoming challenges and current issues supervised by the aquaculture sector. Furthermore, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported that freshwater aquaculture production and marine fish landings fell by 0.8 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively. Given the importance of aquaculture production in the context of the national economy and food security, these challenges cannot be simply ignored. This review serves to present a combination of findings on the current issues facing the sector in 2019. Current Issues in the Malaysian Aquaculture Sector The current issues listed suggest likely causes for the slow growth and decline of the sector as well as direction potentially beneficial that could be explored.Pollution and climate changeAnother case of pollution that deprived aquaculture practitioners of their source of income was reported in the first half of 2019. This case specifically concerned grouper in fish farms in Teluk Bahang , Penang. Groupers have been found with white foam on the water surface and farmers have been forced to stop supplying fishing stocks since April 2009. This has led to significant investment losses for those involved. The Center for Marine and Coastal Studies (Cemacs) reported that the nickel level was 982% above the standard and observed algae blooms. The Universiti Sains Malaysia chemistry department also found lead concentration 184% higher than normal at 0.804 ppm, up from 0.0005 ppm, while cadmium was 32% higher, at 0.065 ppm instead. of 0.002 ppm. Their analyzes lead to the conclusion that heavy metal pollution could be the cause. Climate change affects the quantity and quality of water resources in terms of the temperature of water bodies which continues to increase. This has consequencesdramatic in freshwater aquaculture due to their shallow depth and low buffering capacity. In Setiu, Terengganu, Manan, Zhong, Kasan, Suratman and Ikhwanuddin, it was found that intensive shrimp farming using the biofloc system was identified as exacerbating the leakage of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere due to its activities heterotrophs. Bossier and Ekasari revealed that the application of biofloc technology (BFT) in aquaculture can minimize the environmental impact of aquaculture with high productivity. This is a modifiable system that could meet the needs of farmers, such as higher nutrient utilization, reduced waste generation, greater disease resistance and many more. BFT achieves this by recycling nutrient waste for new biomass production using a heterotrophic microbiota. Although this looks very promising, it is still premature as further research is needed to optimize the system. Improper use of the BFT system can be detrimental as Manan et al. observed that the dense microbial respirations of bluefin tuna became the main contributor of CO2. These issues have always been in the background of many parties developing laws and policies to combat pollution affecting aquaculture practices. Furthermore, pollution is also caused by the concomitant effects of aquaculture, particularly visible in small, unregulated farms. The FAO said that the persistent problem of combating illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing has been the subject, in recent years, of a combat strategy by the Regional Management Organization. of Fisheries (RFMO). The RFMO has suggested several global interventions and measures against IUU fishing that also aim to restore depleting fishing stocks. Presence of invasive alien species Exotic species can be unintentionally or deliberately introduced into our ecosystems, but those that can have adverse effects on human, ecological and economic health. damage is identified as invasive alien species (IAS). IAS pose a major and serious threat to aquaculture because, behind habitat loss, they are the cause of the extinction of aquatic species through the transmission of pathogens and competition. These species can be fish, microorganisms, plants and molluscs. Sultana and Hashim said intensive aquaculture, live food trade and fish stocking are among the human activities responsible for the expansion of IAS. Several news reports in early 2019 reported that the presence of Amazonian catfish and African catfish has disrupted the local ecosystem. The former bury themselves in the ground and river banks to cause erosion which affects the quality of water bodies. Several fish farmers in Johor have complained about the dwindling local fish population. Not only do these species cause degradation of water quality, but they also damage fishing nets, affecting farmers' catches. The latter, the African catfish, has been observed to increase the COD and nitrates of water bodies in such a way that the permissible limit of the recommended raw water quality criteria is exceeded. These excesses need to be further addressed for the water body to be considered safe and reduced in pollutants. Antibiotic resistance Vibrio spp. has often been associated with pathogenic consequences in human and aquatic organisms. The probability of horizontal transfer of virulence genes between pathogenic Vibrio andneighboring microorganisms is high due to its high plasticity which leads to an increase in pathogenic strains in the aquaculture environment. With antibiotics, these diseases can easily be contained, but more and more outbreaks in farmed fish have been reported recently. A study by Nurliyana et al. in various regions of Peninsular Malaysia revealed that 66.7% of diseased fish isolates were positive for virulence genes produced by V. harveyi. However, a high percentage of isolates themselves exhibit multiple resistances to commonly used antibiotics. This is particularly observed at Pulau Ketam, one of the largest aquaculture farms. An increasing MAR index makes treatment of vibriosis in infected fishing stocks more difficult and could also pose a potential risk to human health. This highlights the urgency of reducing the use of antibiotics on aquaculture farms. Other means of immunizing aquatic organisms must be explored to combat this problem. A study was also carried out on the antibiotic resistance of V. parahaemolyticus strains in shrimp and crustaceans. Fourteen different antibiotics were tested on V. parahaemolyticus to determine the sensitivity of each antibiotic. The result was conclusive with the aforementioned study by Nurliyana et al. and Sahilah et al. who reported ceftazidimeand cefuroxime-resistant V. parahaemolyticus isolates from cocci in Negeri Sembilan and Melaka. A promising alternative to antibiotics is the use of probiotics. Chun and M.Lal said the probiotic has the ability to secrete diffusible compounds that can inhibit pathogenic growth and upregulate immune-related genes in pond-cultured whiteleg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei). According to Stratistics MRC, the global probiotics market value is expected to grow and reach US$6.95 billion by 2022. This portends enormous economic profitability in the aquaculture sector. Although probiotics are an idealistic way to ensure profits in aquaculture, many existing studies and reports are incomplete and do not contain sufficient information on the identity of beneficial isolates. In their study, Chun & M.Lal discovered four potential probiotic bacteria (Shewanella sp., B.thuringiensis, Lactobacillus plantarum and B. cereus) for cultivating L.vannamei, with B.cereus showing the greatest potential for its activity antagonist against pathogens. Vibrio sp. Growing Negative Media InfluenceFollowing current trends of a person following at least one lifestyle influencer or online community, web pages such as Global Citizen which receive thousands of visits daily and use social media as a platform form to promote their messages contribute to discouraging aquaculture. growth of the sector. They negatively interpret the aquaculture process and its products by insinuating that it is harmful to approve public measures against the undesirable effects of aquaculture. Furthermore, an animal rights organization, such as People for Ethical Treatments of Animals, which has more than 6.5 million followers, has also publicly addressed this topic by criticizing in a lengthy article with many partial and partial information. obsolete. Kretzer cited the 40-year-old contamination of polychlorinated biphenyls and ignored efforts by government and non-government agencies to ensure safe aquaculture practices. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized paper nowfrom our expert. authors.Get Custom EssayConclusionThe demand for seafood has increased rapidly in recent years as an alternative to meat and poultry consumption, which is why aquaculture has been targeted to solve the food security problem. Malaysia also promotes aquaculture as an important aspect of the country's economic growth and as a pillar and driver of the economy. A blessed land blessed with abundant land and water resources, Malaysia has always strived to continually develop this sector so as not to marginalize it. Malaysia's involvement in aquaculture is significant as it allows Malaysia to be one of the world's leading producers of aquaculture production. However, as has been mentioned in the paper, the current problems listed in Malaysian aquaculture are causing changes and negative effects on this sector. ReferencesAl-Othrubi, SM, Kqueen, CY, Mirhosseini, H., Hadi, YA and Radu, S. (2014). Antibiotic resistance of Vibrio parahaemolyticus isolated from cockles and shrimps traded in Selangor, Malaysia. Clin Microbiol, 3.Anon (2016) National Agri-Food Policy 2011-2020. Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Malaysia. Ariffin, F., Halim, A., Hanafiah, M., Awang, N., Othman, M., Aida abd azman, Siti and Syafiqah Mohd Bakri, N. (2019) . The effects of African catfish, effluent from Clarias Gariepinus Pond Farm on water quality of the Kesang River in Malacca, Malaysia. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research, 17, 1531Bossier, P. and Ekasari, J. (2017). Application of Biofloc technology in aquaculture to support sustainable development goals. Microbial biotechnology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1751-7915.12836Cabello, F.C., Godfrey, H.P., Tomova, A., Ivanova, L., Dölz, H., Millanao, A., and Buschmann, A.H. (2013). Antimicrobial use in aquaculture re-examined: its relevance to antimicrobial resistance and animal and human health. Environmental microbiology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.12134DOSM.(2018). Department of Statistics Malaysia. Press Release Selected Agricultural Indicators, Malaysia 2018. Department of Statistics Malaysia.FAO. (2018). The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2018 – Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. In FAO 2018. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw5824 Fathi, S., Harun, AN, Rambat, S. and Tukiran, NA (2018). Current issues in aquaculture: lessons from Malaysia. Advanced scientific letters. https://doi.org/10.1166/asl.2018.12051 Kretzer, M. (October 31, 2018). Here's why eating fish is actually really bad for you. PETA Retrieved from https://www.peta.org/living/food/is-fish-good-for-you-heres-why-not/Kobayashi, M., Msangi, S., Batka, M., Vannuccini, S., Dey, MM, Anderson, JL (2015): Fishing to 2030: the role and opportunities of aquaculture. – Aquaculture Economics & Management 19: 282-300. Landau, E. (February 7, 2019). "'Ikan Bandaraya' 'Cleans' Local Ecosystem". New Straits Times, retrieved from https://www.nst.com.my/news/nation/2019/02/457980/ikan-bandaraya-cleans-out-local-ecosystemLetchumanan, Vengadesh, Ab Mutalib, N.-S. , Wong, SH, Chan, K.-G. and Lee, L.-H. (2019). Determining antibiotic resistance patterns of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in shrimp and shellfish in Selangor, Malaysia. Advances in microbes and molecular biology; Vol 1, No. 1 (2019). Retrieved from http://www.journals.hh-publisher.com/index.php/pmmb/article/view/49/43Manan, H., Zhong, JMH, Kasan, NA, Suratman, S. and Ikhwanuddin, M . (2019). Carbon dioxide flux from intensive shrimp farming applying the biofloc system in Setiu Terengganu, Malaysia. Aquaculture. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2019.05.026 McCarthy, J. (January 26