Aquatic Animal Health Technical Workshop – February 2014 – University of Sydney.

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Wednesday 19th to Friday 21st February 2014

Hosted by Sydney University, Camden Campus

Program: the workshop program will consist of presentations from participants and will cover a number of disciplines including molecular biology, histology, microbiology and virology.

Participant cost: project funding will be used to subsidise participant costs for travel and, depending on participant numbers, some accommodation costs.

Participant numbers a maximum of 30.

Please reply with an expression of interest to Lynette Williams (Lynette.Williams) by the 11th December for the 2014 workshop.Details of accommodation options will follow.

This email has been distributed to previous workshop participants and subscribers to the FRDC Aquatic Animal Health SubprogramHealth Highlights Newsletter. Please forward to other interested parties.

Lynette Williams

Coordinator

Lynette.williams@csiro.au

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—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology) Murdoch, MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV.
Aquatic Veterinarian | Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University | President-elect WAVMA |
Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – ANZCVS.
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. Mobile Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services for fish and other aquatic creatures.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

Looking for more books? Check out this site.

The Fish Vet - Perth, WA20130720-225350.jpgwavma.jpg?w=780

10 American Foods That Are Banned in Other Countries… Why was salmon listed as #1?

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I was recently forwarded this scaremongering email and my reply was….

“This is another non-factual email that’s doing the circuit. After reading the first bit about the fish, I decided to stop reading.

 Salmon is currently being imported to Australia, but only as frozen commodities due to the risk of introducing exotic biological agents.
Astaxanthine is a phytochemical, not a petrochemical. It’s natural and has anti-oxidative properties and plays a role for UV protection for developing salmon eggs. Many of the grains we ourselves eat at genetically modified. The use of pharmaceuticals in food production animals are highly regulated, because they are the same drugs used to treat human conditions. They are only used when it is necessary, they have to abide by witholding periods and they must be used under veterinary prescription.”

You can have a read for yourself and tell me what you think…

 

R<><

 

 

Americans are slowly waking up to the sad fact that much of the food sold in the US is far inferior to the same foods sold in other nations. In fact, many of the foods you eat are BANNED in other countries. Here, I’ll review 10 American foods that are banned elsewhere, which were featured in a recent MSN article.
Seeing how the overall health of Americans is so much lower than other industrialized countries, you can’t help but wonder whether toxic foods such as these might play a role in our skyrocketing disease rates.
 
#1: Farm-Raised Salmon
http://i1.wp.com/media.mercola.com/themes/mercola/images/slideshow/farmed-salmon.jpg?zoom=1.5&w=735
If you want to maximize health benefits from fish, you want to steer clear of farmed fish, particularly farmed salmon fed dangerous chemicals. Wild salmon gets its bright pinkish-red color from natural carotenoids in their diet. Farmed salmon, on the other hand, are raised on a wholly unnatural diet of grains (including genetically engineered varieties), plus a concoction of antibiotics and other drugs and chemicals not shown to be safe for humans.
This diet leaves the fish with unappetizing grayish flesh so to compensate, they’re fed synthetic astaxanthin made from petrochemicals, which has not been approved for human consumption and has well known toxicities. According to the featured article, some studies suggest it can potentially damage your eyesight.
 
Where it’s banned: Australia and New Zealand
How can you tell whether a salmon is wild or farm-raised? The flesh of wild sockeye salmon is bright red, courtesy of its natural astaxanthin content. It’s also very lean, so the fat marks, those white stripes you see in the meat, are very thin. If the fish is pale pink with wide fat marks, the salmon is farmed.
Avoid Atlantic salmon, as typically salmon labeled “Atlantic Salmon” currently comes from fish farms. The two designations you want to look for are: “Alaskan salmon,” and “sockeye salmon,” as Alaskan sockeye is not allowed to be farmed. Please realize that the vast majority of all salmon sold in restaurants is farm raised.
So canned salmon labeled “Alaskan Salmon” is a good bet, and if you find sockeye salmon, it’s bound to be wild. Again, you can tell sockeye salmon from other salmon by its color; its flesh is bright red opposed to pink, courtesy of its superior astaxanthin content. Sockeye salmon actually has one of the highest concentrations of astaxanthin of any food.

“Don’t dump that fish” – keep aquarium fish where they belong

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

This is an article by the Department of Fisheries

The Department of Fisheries’ "don’t dump that fish" campaign was launched in October by Western Australia’s Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley. It is part of the Department‘s program to improve the State’s aquatic biosecurity defences.

The campaign is supported by the Department of Agriculture and Food, the aquarium industry, and the Perth Cichlid Society. It is designed to raise awareness of the impacts of releasing unwanted aquarium fish, snails and plants into waterways, toilets, drains or the ocean. It will also provide advice on how to responsibly dispose of such unwanted pets.

To help spread the word, "don’t dump that fish" posters, brochures and fish bag stickers have been produced for aquariums retailers around the State.

“The wider community is a huge resource in the fight to prevent aquatic pests entering and establishing in WA. Industry-supported programs, such as this ‘Don’t dump that fish’ campaign, are powerful ways of engaging many people on aquatic biosecurity issues,” Professor Beazley said.

“With millions of fish being transported around the globe, importation of aquarium fish is potentially a major source of invasive species.”

“Given the difficulties in eradicating pests once they are established, the Department’s focus is on prevention by ensuring key stakeholders, such as the ornamental fish industry, have access to relevant information,” she said.

“Fish owners who no longer want their fish are encouraged to give them to other responsible owners or an organisation with an aquarium, or to seek advice from their local pet shop.”

“If you are unable to find a new home for your fish, or if the fish are sick or diseased, please dispose of them responsibly and humanely.”

Advice on how to dispose of them is included in the new brochure, which can also be found on the Department of Fisheries’ website at www.fish.wa.gov.au/biosecurity or visit www.kb.rspca.org.au and search using the term ‘humanely euthanase fish’.

Sightings of suspected aquatic pests should be reported to the department’s FISHWATCH service on 1800 815 507, or via email to biosecurity, or through the free WA PestWatchapp, which can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play Store.

Pictured: Department of Fisheries Director General (Stuart Smith) with WA’s Chief Scientist Professor Lyn Beazley at the campaign launch.

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—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology) Murdoch, MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV.
Aquatic Veterinarian | Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University | President-elect WAVMA |
Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – ANZCVS.
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA. Mobile Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services for fish and other aquatic creatures.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

Looking for more books? Check out this site.

The Fish Vet - Perth, WA20130720-225350.jpgwavma.jpg?w=780

New images emerge of Gladstone’s leaking bund wall and metals release data

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Below is an email I received from a colleague and I thought I’d share.

R<><

 

Another Gladstone suppressed report has emerged.

http://www.westernbasinportdevelopment.com.au/media/pdf/Field%20investigatio
ns%20of%20the%20bund%20wall%20seal%20August%202012.pdf

Images in Gladstone Ports Corp. own report show clearly where huge amounts of harbour turbidity were coming from-not.

 

According to Queensland and Commonwealth Govt, the effect of dredging and disposal did not contribute to fish/turtle/dolphin health issues.

Really?

 

Yet the EIS said the dredgematerial to be dumped inside the bund would be too toxic to dump offshore….yet it was inadvertently released into harbour anyway through leaks.

Note that this took place within the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Grahams Creek) and within the World Heritage Area- Gladstone Harbour.

 

Investigation of causes needs to be urgently re-opened so future developments have substantially greater protections put in place.

See table from EIS below which predicts metals release from resuspended sediments.

Note how closely metal releases resemble blood metal results of turtles sampled in July 2011. High arsenic, high cobalt.

http://www.westernbasinportdevelopment.com.au/media/pdf/Entox%20Report%20-%20Investigation%20of%20contaiminanr%20Levels%20in%20Green%20Turtles%20from%20Gladstone.pdf

 

Fish showed high aluminium in gills, crabs high copper/zinc in hepatopancreas

 

Yet we are to believe this was caused by a flood months earlier, and a few barra swimming downstream.

Anyone buying it?

 

Demand an full independent inquiry. Numerous developments are about to be signed off, with the confidence that nothing went wrong in Gladstone.

Dr Matt Landos BVSc(HonsI)MACVS

Director, Future Fisheries Veterinary Service Pty Ltd

Honorary lecturer, associate researcher, University of Sydney

PO Box 7142, East Ballina NSW 2478

Ph  +61(0)437 492 863

Fax  +61 (0)2 6103 9025

Skype: matt.landos

A great day at the office looks like this.

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—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology) Murdoch, MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV.
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia.
Veterinary Medicine for fish.
W: http://www.thefishvet.com.au
E: thefishvet
P: +61 (0)421 822 383

The temperature is heating up. What do you need to do for your axolotl?

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

Calls are coming in thick and fast with sick axolotls. Could it be to do with the weather getting warmer?

So, I’d like to draw your attention to one of my previous blogs about how to keep your water cool for the heat intolerant aquatic animals.

Check out the posts at this link.

The latest edition of The Aquatic Veterinarian [2013 7(3)] is now available.

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish
The latest edition of The Aquatic Veterinarian is now available for download from www.wavma.org/Aquatic-vet-newsletter-for-members.
To access the page you will require your WAVMA log-in details – the email you signed up with and your password.
What’s in this issue?
  • Editorials
  • Executive Board Reports
  • Committee Reports
    • AVMA Convention in Chicago,
    • World Veterinary Congress and AGM in Prague
    • Aquatic Scholarship Awards
  • Colleague’s Connection – An interview with Dr Richmond Loh
  • Peer-Reviewed Articles
    • Salmon poisoning disease in dogs.
  • Clinical Reports
    • Non-chemical solution to water particulate problem causing gill disease.
  • Collation of discussions from the WAVMA Listserv
    • Reef-safe medication to treat white spot disease.
    • Treatment methods for monogenetic trematodes in marine aquaria.
    • Dropsy in koi.
  • Literature Reviews (various)
  • News & Views
    • Ocean Genome Legacy Seeks Samples for Marine Mammal Genome Archive
    • How Does Slaughter Affect Fish Welfare?
  • Legislative and regulatory issues
    • EFSA Guidance Outlines Approach for Environmental Risk Assessment
    • Fukushima Fallout Not Affecting U.S. Fish
  • Aquatic Veterinary CE&PD
    • MARVET 2014 (stands for “MARine VETerinarian”
    • The Seavet Course at the University of Florida
    • AQUAVET III Course
    • Internships, Externships and Residencies
  • Job Opportunities
  • Certified Aquatic Veterinarian (CertAqV) Credentialing Program – Special Supplement
If you have any difficulties please contact administrators@wavma.org.
PLEASE NOTE: Access to members only content such as the most recent Aquatic Veterinarian is now only available to those members who have paid their 2013 membership fees.
Follow me on: Facebook “Fin Page” – YouTube  – Blog – Linkedin – Twitter—
Yours sincerely,Dr Richmond Loh

DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology) Murdoch, MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology), CertAqV.
Veterinarian | Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University | President-elect WAVMA |
Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter – ANZCVS.
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia, AUSTRALIA.

Mobile Veterinary Medical & Diagnostic Services for fish and other aquatic creatures.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383

Check out Florida’s freshwater springs if you’re in the area.

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

See also, https://thefishvet.com/2013/06/10/fanning-springs-ive-found-heaven-on-earth/

—
Yours sincerely,

Dr Richmond Loh
DipProjMgt, BSc, BVMS, MPhil (Pathology) Murdoch, MANZCVS (Aquatics& Pathobiology), CertAqV.
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia.
Veterinary Medicine for fish.
W: http://www.thefishvet.com.au
E: thefishvet
P: +61 (0)421 822 383

How good is Doctor Google at diagnosing fish diseases?

Posted on by TheFishVet - Richmond's School of Fish

Have you ever consulted Dr Google on fish ailments, hoping to find the right treatment for your diseased fish?

Do you find yourself searching the the world of knowledge just to become more confused? … or even make you paranoid about what you’ve got?

You’re not alone. Many fish diseases are difficult to diagnose based on clinical signs and gross appearances alone. More frequently, water tests and microscopic examinations are required.

Check out the following pictures of diagnoses I’ve made. They have the same clinical presentation but the reasons for illness, and hence treatment plan, differs vastly.

Different causes for skin ulcers in fish.

To finish off, I’d like to refer you to this funny video on YouTube – click here.