Are diseases spread from farmed to wild shellfish?
Since shellfish culture is rarely practiced in isolation from wild shellfish, the introduction of a new infectious agent into open-water shellfish culture can impact sympatric wild resources. Also, transplanted wild shellfish can be asymptomatic carriers of infectious agents that may infect cultured populations. According to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, there is little specific knowledge on the life cycle and ecology of most serious shellfish pathogens. In Canada , some effort has been directed towards understanding diseases of commercially exploited shellfish. The rapid development of shellfish aquaculture around the world, along with an increased demand for live shellfish, has escalated the need to prevent the spread of shellfish diseases. Maintaining the healthiest and most disease-free environment for fish, either wild or cultured, is a definite goal for government, environmentalists and aquaculturalists alike. Aquaculture producers actively monitor and manage fish health. Producer
