Aquaculture Health Management and Oxidative Stress Responses

Aquaculture health management integrates biosecurity practices, water quality control, nutritional strategies and therapeutic interventions to sustain the growth and welfare of cultured species. Central to these efforts is the mitigation of oxidative stress, a cellular imbalance caused by excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) that can damage proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. Farmed fish and shellfish may encounter oxidative challenges through environmental fluctuations, pathogen invasion or chemical treatments, prompting an adaptive cascade of antioxidant defences, including enzymatic systems and mucosal responses. Monitoring oxidative markers and mucosal integrity has emerged as a practical tool to assess sub-clinical stress and optimise husbandry protocols. Disinfectants such as peracetic acid (PAA) offer dual roles in pathogen control and modulation of oxidative pathways, though their application requires precise dosing to avoid collateral tissue effects. Advances in transcriptomics and metabolomics now allow the identification of molecular signatures of stress resilience, guiding selective breeding and tailored prophylactic measures. By coupling mechanistic insights into ROS dynamics with on-farm diagnostics, aquaculture can move towards more sustainable, welfare-centred production systems that anticipate and attenuate oxidative damage.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have unveiled a novel parasitic threat to cephalopod aquaculture, identifying a copepod species that degrades squid eggshells via specialised enzymes. Genome analysis of the parasite and its microbiome revealed key factors involved in eggshell degradation, offering targets for intervention. Immersion treatments with peracetic acid at defined concentrations effectively inhibited parasite development and enhanced embryo survival. A brief exposure to PAA solutions eliminated all infective stages within minutes, while optimised lower doses supported normal hatching and larval growth. These findings demonstrate how targeted oxidative disinfection can manage emerging pathogens without compromising early life-stage health in high-value aquaculture candidates.

Aquaculture Health Management and Oxidative Stress Responses publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in aquaculture health management and oxidative stress responses across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Oxidative stress: A state in which the production of reactive oxygen species exceeds the capacity of antioxidant defences, leading to cellular damage.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS): Chemically reactive molecules derived from oxygen, including free radicals, that can damage biomolecules.

Mucosal barrier: The collective tissues, mucus layer and immune factors lining body surfaces that interface with the external environment.

Peracetic acid (PAA): A potent oxidant used as a disinfectant in aquaculture for pathogen control and modulation of oxidative pathways.

Viable but non-culturable (VBNC): A bacterial state in which cells remain alive yet fail to grow on routine culture media, often following stress exposure.

References

1. Towards sustainable water disinfection with peracetic acid in aquaculture: A review. Reviews in Aquaculture (2024).
2. Peracetic acid treatment of squid eggs infected with parasitic copepod (Ikanecator primus gen. et sp. nov.). Scientific Reports (2024).
3. Mucosal Barrier Functions of Fish under Changing Environmental Conditions. Fishes (2019).
4. Oxidant-induced modifications in the mucosal transcriptome and circulating metabolome of Atlantic salmon. Aquatic Toxicology (2020).
5. Dynamic morphometrics of mucous cells reveal the minimal impact of therapeutic doses of peracetic acid on Atlantic salmon gill health. Aquaculture (2021).