Antimicrobial resistance survey of aquaculture activities across Canada

Antimicrobial resistance survey of aquaculture activities across Canada

David Huyben, Madeline Borland, Marcia Chiasson, Derek Smith (ECCC), Shawn Robinson (DFO)

Several decades of antibiotic use on animal farms around the world, including fish farms, has led to antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotic use is heavily restricted on fish farms in Canada, although little info exists on the level of resistant bacteria that may still be circulating in the environment. We aim to survey fish farms in Ontario, as well as the west and east coast of Canada that include fish swabs, sediment, invertbrates, migrating birds and other environments to find out the health of these farms, wild ecosystems and the human food chain.