Infectious diseases reported in warm-water marine fish cage culture in East and Southeast Asia-A systematic review

East and Southeast Asia have the largest share of mariculture production in Asia, and most of this is cage farming. An increase in marine fish consumption in the region has led to an expansion of marine cage culture over the last decade, which has resulted in an increase in the incidence of infectious diseases within this sector. Knowledge about pathogens, their distribution and clinical signs can help establish appropriate preventive and control strategies. We systematically reviewed the literature for infectious diseases affecting fish in marine cage culture in East and Southeast Asia, using two scientific databases, Scopus and Aquaculture Compendium, as well as two government-based databases, quarterly aquatic animal disease reports published by the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific, and the fish health data published by the World Animal Health Information System (OIE). We also discussed the transmission routes of pathogens and potential environmental triggers for outbreaks when the information was available. Our review revealed that Vibrio spp., followed by parasitic monogeneans, trematodes and copepods are the most commonly reported pathogens in the literature. There were a few reports of viral pathogens, such as iridoviruses and nervous necrosis virus, but these were more commonly reported in the government surveillance documents. The results of this review can help inform surveillance programmes, improve the early detection of disease on farms and identify pathogens of concern for developing preventive and control strategies.

Automated summary

East and Southeast Asia have the largest share of mariculture production in Asia, and most of this is cage farming. An increase in marine fish consumption in the region has led to an expansion of marine cage culture over the last decade, which has resulted in an increase in the incidence of infectious diseases within this sector. Vibrio spp., followed by parasitic monogeneans, trematodes, and copepods are the most commonly reported pathogens in the literature.