Veterinary chemicals are important tools in primary production systems. When used correctly, they play a valuable role in ensuring animal welfare and maximising the quality and yield of primary produce (economic sustainability). The use of veterinary chemicals as part of disease management in aquaculture also reduces the risk of disease spread to adjacent wild stocks (ecological sustainability). Aquaculture is a comparatively young (i.e. decades) primary industry, farming new (and often non-domesticated) species compared to terrestrial animal production (where most species have been domesticated for hundreds or thousands of years). Consequently, there is limited biological knowledge of aquaculture species (e.g. health, physiology and disease) where novel aquatic disease outbreaks are common, often requiring use of veterinary chemicals that are not registered for use in aquatic environments. Thus there is also a lack of information on the efficacy, safety and environmental effects of veterinary medicines. Furthermore, due to the relatively small size of Australian aquaculture industry sectors, there is limited interest from pharmaceutical companies for investment in product registration due to low economic return on investment.

We will collate available data and obtain new data to satisfy identified gaps to satisfy the requirements of the APVMA Minor Use Permit application.