Parasitic diseases of cultured marine finfishes and their surveillance in China.

Abstract More than 40 species of marine fishes are cultured in China and a wide variety of parasites are reported as lethal pathogens of these fishes in culture conditions. In the case of net cages, the culture facilities provides a good substrate for monogenean eggs to become entangled and the intensive aggregation of fishes facilitates the transmission of parasites between hosts. Relatively thorough studies on parasitic pathogens of marine fishes in China predominately concern the ciliate Cryptocaryon irritans and capsalid monogeneans (mainly Benedenia sp. and Neobenedenia sp.). Although nearly all such reports are related to treatment procedures, no single method has proved to be adequate for the effective control of these parasitic pathogens in marine cultured fishes. The National Fisheries Technology Extension Center (NFTEC) has established surveillance systems to monitor the diseases of aquaculture, including the parasitic diseases of maricultured fishes. The national monitoring stations for diseases of cultured marine fishes are distributed in the coastal counties or cities and provide remote in situ diagnoses of diseased fishes. International cooperation and effort are required for the control of parasitic diseases of marine finfish because of both the increasing international trade of eggs (seed) and larvae and commercial products in terms of live marine finfishes, which can readily result in the transmission of pathogens.