Trained the new fish health person and saw a few clients – one of whom drove 41km with her sick fish to see me here!
Peter Sandoe’s lecture on animal welfare & ethics.
What did we learn from the lecture?
Different people have different ideas about what constitutes good welfare. These assumptions will influence how we interpret experimental results to form conclusions that can vary.
Animal welfare is a series of double, triple or even quadruple standards where the context of it makes all the difference. For the same animal, the standards will vary greatly depending on whether it is a pet, an experimental animal, farmed, in the wild or is seen as vermin. Mice, rats and rabbits are the best examples of quadruple standards. At one end of the scale, people would spend hundreds of dollars on veterinary bills on a pet rabbit; then people would allow it to be experimented on provided that pain and suffering is minimised as a university experiment; kill them for meat and fur as a farmed animal; allow them to their own devices to fend for themselves in the wild; and trap, poison or even use biological control agents against them to die a slow agonising death as vermin. Same animal type, same human making the call, different standards.
These were just some of the points that Peter Sandoe drew to our attention in the very thought provoking lecture.
Fish pathology in the in Pathobiology Fellowship Chapter exams of the ANZCVS.
I’ve been asked by one of the examiners to contribute some pathognomonic gross lesions of fish diseases to be included in the veterinary pathology specialist exams for the Australian & New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists. I’d have to say that unlike diseases in terrestrial animals, there are fewer than 10 diseases in fishes that you can identify grossly without using special equipment or further investigatory work. Every other disease relies on testing water quality, examination using microscopy, bacterial cultures and virology techniques. This is really where the interesting things begin!
Dr Loh will be attending a lecture on animal welfare & ethics.
The lunch time lecture is held at Murdoch University and it is being presented by Peter Sandoe, Professor of Bioethics at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
Information about the event is in the flyer below.
PDF.pdf
In the USA, “for every dollar of fish stocking, $36 dollars of recreational angler-related expenditures are supported.”
With abalone enthusiasts licking their lips and sharpening their screw drivers for their next treasure hunt this Sunday, some might wonder where all the money they pay for fishing licences go.
Although it hasn’t been formally done for abalone, one of the ways the money may be spent is towards breeding fish for restocking the wild fisheries.
| Aquaculture Economics & Management: Official Journal of the International Association of Aquaculture Economics and Management | |||||||||||||||||
| Volume 16, Number 1 (January 2012) | |||||||||||||||||
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THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF THE PRIVATE, RECREATION-BASED AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES | ||||||||||||||||
| Authors: | DanielBryan Deisenroth 1, CraigA. Bond 2, JohnB. Loomis 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Author Affiliations: |
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| Source: | Aquaculture Economics & Management: Official Journal of the International Association of Aquaculture Economics and Management, Volume 16, Number 1 (January 2012) | ||||||||||||||||
| Page Numbers: | 1 – 21 | ||||||||||||||||
| Available Full Text: |
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| Abstract: | This article explores the economic contribution of the private, recreation-based aquaculture industry in the Western United States. New sectors are constructed in IMPLAN input-output software using data gathered between 2007 and 2010 from producers and their direct customers (stocked fisheries). Information from a third survey of anglers in Colorado and California is integrated to predict the short-term shocks that would occur to various industries if anglers at privately stocked fisheries were to discontinue fishing (simulating a hypothetical collapse of the industry). Accounting for both the backward and forward linkages of the private, recreation-based aquaculture industry’s production, model results indicate that for every dollar of fish stocking, $36 dollars of recreational angler-related expenditures are supported, and that the total economic contribution of this industry in the Western United States is roughly $2 billion annually. This is the first study addressing the forward linkages and total economic contribution of this industry. | ||||||||||||||||
| Citation: | DanielBryan Deisenroth, CraigA. Bond, JohnB. Loomis . THE ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION OF THE PRIVATE, RECREATION-BASED AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY IN THE WESTERN UNITED STATES. Aquaculture Economics & Management: Official Journal of the International Association of Aquaculture Economics and Management, Volume 16, Number 1 (January 2012), pp. 1-21, ; | ||||||||||||||||
| URL: | http://ejournals.ebsco.com/direct.asp?ArticleID=4435992EA6DAF558CB3C | ||||||||||||||||
Sometimes we need “accountants”…
Dr Loh will be consulting in Melbourne this Saturday.
Since 2004, Dr Loh has been providing professional veterinary care for the fish at Boronia Aquarium in Melbourne and for its customer base. The monthly trips to Melbourne are usually the first Saturday of each month, but please always ring ahead to check. Between the visits, Dr Loh works with his colleagues at Boronia Aquarium to continually improve on the good practices to make them the best practices in the ornamental fish retail industry.
Call 03 9762 2044 to make an appointment to see him this Saturday the 3rd of March 2012.
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Now on: Twitter – Blog – Facebook – Linkedin – YouTube —
Yours sincerely,
Dr Richmond Loh
BSc BVMS MPhil (Vet Path) MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology) DipPMVeterinarian / Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University / Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter ANZCVS
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia. Mobile Veterinary Service for fish and other aquatic creatures.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
Why does my goldfish change colour?
I just had an enquiry about why this person’s pet goldfish changed colour.
The short answer is that their skin colour is under genetic and hormonal control and it is normal.
The colour change is usually from a black/bronze to orange, to white. The colour change usually starts from the abdomen/flanks and spreads to the extremities. When this happens, the colours at the extremities usually become more intense. Fish normally start changing colour from 3-6 months of age or even later. So, the bronze goldfish you originally bought could become a gold goldfish, or even a white goldfish!
On another note, some people may have goldfish with pale colouration and notice that when they are placed in their outdoor pond, their colour becomes brighter. This is the effect of the sunlight and other natural foods that become available to the fish in outdoor situations.
Just be aware that excessive slime making the fish dull in colour, dark/black patches in unusual parts of the body, blisters and ulcers are signs of disease and prompt veterinary attention would be needed to obtain a correct diagnosis and treatment to remedy the situation.
—
Now on: Twitter – Blog – Facebook – Linkedin – YouTube
—
Yours sincerely,
Dr Richmond Loh
BSc BVMS MPhil (Vet Path) MANZCVS (Aquatics & Pathobiology) DipPM
Veterinarian / Adjunct Lecturer Murdoch University / Secretary Aquatic Animal Health Chapter ANZCVS
The Fish Vet, Perth, Western Australia. Mobile Veterinary Service for fish and other aquatic creatures.
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
http://www.thefishvet.com.au
Ph: +61 (0)421 822 383
Fish feasting on feet – A Fix or a Fad?
Food for fish?
There’s this apparently therapeutic spa treatment for feet using small fish to chew off dead skin.
Try googling “fish spa”, “garra rufa” and the like and you’ll find multiple articles about it. Are the health claims true? Can it treat psoriasis and other skin conditions?
These fish pedicures, using “doctor fish”, can be found in most touristy locations in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, China and Japan.
The latest news is that rather than therapeutic, the fish spas can actually facilitate transfer of infections!
Check out the information provided in these links – http://www.wellnesswa.com.au/2009/12/q-a-where-can-i-get-a-fish-pedicure-in-perth/
and
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2050342/Fish-pedicures-foot-spas-spread-HIV-hepatitis-C.html
Food for thought.
Dr Loh teaches about fish health and water quality at Murdoch University today.
All set and ready to go. Spiked water samples for testing and fish for health checks. Students will also learn about fish anaesthesia and conducting necropsies.
Dr Yes!
On my way for another teaching stint at Murdoch University and I spotted a different kind of doctor!
