Preventing Rockfish Mortality... Development of Two Types of Parasite Treatments

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Haeyoung] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 12th that it has developed two treatments for gill flukes, which cause mortality in the major domestic aquaculture species, Jopibollak (Rockfish), and transferred the related technology to about 20 private companies.

The National Fishery Products Quality Management Service under the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries began developing new antiparasitic ingredients for aquatic use last year and confirmed that the ingredients febantel and fenbendazole have efficacy in improving gill fluke infections. After completing safety and residue verification of these ingredients, the technology was transferred to about 20 pharmaceutical companies by early this month. These companies plan to commercialize the products in the first half of next year after conducting clinical trials at aquaculture farms.

Gill flukes are representative blood-sucking parasites that attach to the gills of Jopibollak and cause anemia. They continuously cause damage to aquaculture farms through mass mortality. Previously, only antiparasitic drugs made with a single ingredient called praziquantel were used, resulting in relatively low treatment efficacy for gill fluke infections.