Development of pangasius–carp polyculture in Bangladesh: Understanding farm characteristics by, and association between, socio-economic and biological variables

Presence of antibacterial substances, nitrofuran metabolites and other chemicals in farmed pangasius and tilapia in Bangladesh: Probabilistic health risk assessment

“…Mymensingh is known as the ‘hub of aquaculture’, where commercial aquaculture was first developed in 1990 [ 21 ]. It is the top-ranked district for pond fish production in Bangladesh [ 2 , 3 ]. The selection of these study sites was justified based on the production data of pangasius and tilapia, as officially reported by the Department of Fisheries [ 2 , 3 ].…”

“…It is the top-ranked district for pond fish production in Bangladesh [ 2 , 3 ]. The selection of these study sites was justified based on the production data of pangasius and tilapia, as officially reported by the Department of Fisheries [ 2 , 3 ]. These three sites have had significant development of aquaculture due to suitable agroecological conditions.…”

“…Bangladesh has the fifth largest aquaculture production in the world, and is recognised as one of the leading countries for freshwater aquaculture [ 1 ]. Aquaculture dominates other animal food-producing sectors in terms of growth, and contributing 56 % of the country’s total fish production [ 2 , 3 ]. Fish act as the main source of animal protein in the diet of Bangladeshi people contributing a major portion (60 %) of animal protein intake [ 2 ].…”

“…The average fish consumptions in rural and urban area are 60.6 and 67.9 g day −1 , respectively [ 4 ]. In Bangladesh, the sharp rise of aquaculture production started in the 1990s due to the development of intensive aquaculture technologies [ 3 ]. This intensive aquaculture is dominated by pangasius ( Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) and tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ) farming, which collectively account for 36 % of the total aquaculture production in Bangladesh [ 2 ].…”

“…They are the primary farmed species, by volume of production, and characterised by cost-intensive farming for the investment for seed, feed, drugs, other chemicals, and labour that created a large domestic market with export potentials involving a large number of stakeholders across their value-chains. In farming of these species, the feed conversion ratio (FCR) is 2.0, and the cost of feed accounts for over 70 % of the total operating cost [ 3 ]. Previous studies have reported that feed is contaminated with various harmful substances, such as antibiotics, heavy metals, hormones, mycotoxins, organophosphates, anthelmintics and dyes [ 5 , 6 ].…”