FAO.org

Veterinary services are vital for enabling farmers to manage disease risks.  Farmers should work with veterinary health professionals to apply general provisions to identify fish health-related risks. When health-related events occur, farmers should have a specific contact person in the veterinary health profession that is used to assist in remedying health-related events. Farmers should have the option to hire a veterinary health professional or use a trusted outside source. 

Veterinarians have a significant role in demonstrating that high standards of fish health can be effectively maintained, in an environmentally friendly manner, to overcome such fears and allow the industry to grow sustainably to meet the ever-increasing demand for farmed fish. 

Extension services play an important coordination as well as capacity building role. They are the point of contact in terms of health issues and should be capable of providing expert advice on how to remedy disease events as well as provide guidance on good husbandry and best practices that mitigate problems of predation and water quality. 

Farmers require access to good laboratory services. For example, farmers are encouraged to periodically test accuracy and precisions of their on-farm methods by sending replicates of samples to laboratories for analysis. 

Depending on the species of fish being farmed and the location, insurance can be taken out to cover mortality during production. This, however, may not necessarily lead to a reduction in food loss and waste (FLW).