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This study was conducted to evaluate the prevalence, potential pathogenicity and antimicrobial resistance of Vibrio isolates from 65 soil/water/fish samples collected from inland saline aquaculture areas. Depending on the sample type, presumptive Vibrio counts ranged from 2.50 to 6.16 log 10 CFU/ml (or/g). Among the 119 confirmed Vibrio isolates, Vibrio cholerae was found to most dominant (91.6%) and it was detected in all the samples from inland saline areas. Seven other Vibrio spp.including Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio vulnificus were also detected. Except one O139 serotype, rest of the V. cholerae isolates were found belonging to non-O1/non-O139 serogroups. None of the V. cholerae isolate was found positive for ctx gene. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing against 7 commonly used antibiotics revealed highest resistance (50.4%) against ampicillin. Very high intermediate resistance (87.4%) was also observed against erythromycin. Contrary to previous studies, high susceptibility (>70%) to chloramphenicol, nalidixic acid, tetracycline and trimethoprim was observed in Vibrio isolates obtained in present study. Almost 20% of Vibrio isolates were resistant to two or more antibiotic classes with multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index value of ≥0.28. Presence of V. cholerae isolates with very high MAR index value of 0.85 also suggested that these multidrug-resistant environment isolates could serve as reservoir of antibiotic-resistant genes in aquatic systems. The presence of multiple drug resistance vibrios in emerging inland saline aquaculture systems emphasizes the need for their routine monitoring for developing the risk assessment and mitigation strategies.antimicrobial resistance, India, Inland saline water, Vibrio cholerae, virulence genes 1 | INTRODUCTION Aquaculture and fisheries have been playing a significant role in achieving the nutritional security, employment/livelihood generation and economic prosperity goals at regional, national and global levels.With the gradual stagnation of worldwide marine capture fisheries over the last decade, focus has shifted more towards aquaculture production in inland and marine/coastal areas. In 2014, aquaculture accounted for 44.1% (73.8 million tonnes) of global finfish and shellfish production (167.2 million tonnes), significantly higher than corresponding value of 7% in 1974. Out of this total aquaculture production, a major chunk (63.8%) came from inland areas (FAO 2016). The rapid growth in aquaculture production has mainly been due to horizontal (addition of more fish farming areas) and vertical (productivity enhancement through species and culture system diversification) expansion strategies. In addition to freshwater aquaculture, inland saline water and brackishwater have also emerged as potential farming aquaculture resources for rearing freshwater and

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