Recreational fishing is a major pastime for over 50 million Americans. Anglers spend $69 billion annually in an industry that employs 1.3 million Americans and generates $2 billion in federal tax revenues. Federal and state aquaculture facilities provide millions of fish for recreational fishing, threatened and endangered species restoration projects, and wild stock enhancement programs.

Federal and state fish culturists raise fish in high density environments where the potential for a disease outbreak is peaked. Ignored, a disease outbreak could wipe out a raceway of fish, and possibly an entire production year. Therapeutic drugs are essential for fish culturists to ensure the health, productivity, and well-being of cultured fish stocks. Unfortunately there is a lack of U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drugs available to public fish culturists. To combat this shortage of approved drugs, scientists at the Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center (UMESC) in La Crosse, Wisconsin conceived and implemented a research program aimed at solving this problem.

The UMESC is committed to conducting research to develop safe and effective therapeutic drugs for use in fishery management and production. When the project began in 1994, U.S. aquaculture had access to only three FDA approved drugs to treat fish diseases. The legal uses of these drugs were restricted to specific diseases and fish species. The generation of data necessary to broaden the use of currently approved drugs or to develop a new drug was very costly; approximately $3.5 million per drug for one fish species for one disease.

Based on the relatively low market potential for aquaculture drugs, private drug and chemical manufacturers could not justify the investment. Therefore, the Federal-State Drug Approval Partnership Project (Project) was born. The Project represents the largest and most comprehensive effort undertaken on behalf of public aquaculture. The Project was governed by a partnership between 37 state natural resource agencies represented by the International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, the Biological Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership Program . Other collaborators included the U.S. Department of Agriculture Harry K. Dupree Stuttgart National Aquaculture Research Center, private aquaculture organizations, the National Coordinator for Aquaculture New Animal Drug Applications and several drug companies.

The objectives of the Project were to broaden the use of currently approved drugs and to gain approval for one new general anesthetic and several new therapeutic drugs. The anesthetic selected for development was Aqui-S™. The therapeutic drugs selected for development were Chloramine-T, Copper sulfate, Florfenicol, Formalin, Hydrogen peroxide, Oxytetracycline, and Potassium permanganate.

Related links:

• William H. Gingerich Recognized by the Food and Drug Administration
  
  
  
• First New Waterborne Aquaculture Drug in 20 Years Approved