The Problem with Farmed Fish — Their Food Is Spreading Antibiotic Resistance.
Ever Wonder What Is in Fish Food?
Farmers turn fish that are not considered palatable for "direct human consumption" into fish meal.
The Problem with Antibiotic-Contaminated Fish Food For this study, the researchers sourced fish meal products from China, Peru, Russia, Chile, and the US.
But between six and 11 antibiotics were found in each sample.
While samples of fish meal from Russia had the highest levels of antibiotics, they also had the lowest number of ARGs.
Antibiotic resistant genes, when transferred between bacteria, can result in multi-drug resistant bacteria, or "superbugs."
Overall, the study authors found that fish meal increased the diversity and numbers of antibiotic-resistant genes in the sediment.
Higher numbers of antibiotic-resistant genes make the problem of "human pathogenic bacteria" circulating in ocean water and sediment more dangerous.
Farmed fish is not going away.