This presentation will present thoughts on training needs for strengthening the aquaculture veterinary workforce with a focus on what are the core competencies for aquaculture veterinary practice. Veterinarians, and veterinary students ask, “what do we need to know about fish production before we go to a farm to help fish farmers with fish health problems?” Veterinarians are interested in providing veterinary services to fish farmers, but aquaculture veterinary medicine is not part of the veterinary curriculum in most colleges, and they needed post-graduate training to feel confident stepping on to a fish farm, just like stepping onto a dairy farm, or into a small animal exam room. That need has grown worldwide.
A 2024 Qualitative Semi-Structured Interview of Fish Health in the North Central Region (NCR) funded by a United States Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, North Central Regional Aquaculture Center (USDA-NIFA NCRAC ) grant, led by Dr. Thomas Loch et al., found only 45% of fish farms surveyed in the NCR work with fish farm veterinarians. Some NCR states have one or two fish farm veterinarians, whereas most states have none. All states would benefit from more fish farm veterinarians who are well-trained to assist fish farmers in improving biosecurity and response to fish disease events.
Dr. Kebus has identified 14 private practice veterinarians that provide some veterinary services to fish farmers in only five of the twelve NCR states (IN, MI, MN, OH, WI). This highlights a significance deficit of fish farm veterinarians in the NCR. Our team’s findings suggest that fish farmers who work with fish farm veterinarians are more likely to use diagnostic laboratories, and along with the clinical observations of their veterinarians, have a greater ability to monitor and to determine the causes of their fish disease losses, and to detect potential aquatic animal diseases including fish Foreign Animal Diseases (FADs). Fish farmers who work with veterinarians in many cases do so primarily to get fish health certificates (FHCs) to meet regulatory requirements associate with intrastate, and interstate movement of fish. These FHCs involve pathogen testing and contribute to the national system of early detection of aquatic animal diseases. The more fish farmers use well-trained veterinarians, the more likely we are to detect emergent disease including FADs early before they are allowed to spread.
Since July 2024 Dr. Kebus has lead veterinarians and fish health professionals in veterinary, aquaculture in a series of 12 virtual focus group meetings. Three two-day workshops on necropsy techniques, on-farm veterinary procedures, and a table-top risk exercise will be conducted in 2025 and 2026. Veterinarians who participate in the workshops will gain confidence to provide service to fish farms. During the workshops we will provide guidance on understanding the value of working with veterinarians and how they can help reduce mortality and increase profitability.