Tag Toxicity

Copper is used for control of the blue-green algae responsible for off-flavors in aquaculture animals, treating diseases and parasites, and avoiding cage net fouling. Although copper is an essential nutrient for plants and animals, an excess can negatively affect the environment and human health. 

Ammonia nitrogen occurs in aquaculture systems as a waste product of protein metabolism by aquatic animals and degradation of organic matter, or in nitrogen fertilizers. Exposure can reduce growth and increase susceptibility to diseases in aquatic species. 

The 2001 detection of chloramphenicol in shrimp imported into the Netherlands heightened awareness of and anxiety over the presence of chemicals in food. 

Excessive concentrations of trace metals, especially copper, are toxic to phytoplankton and other aquatic plants. The ionic forms of trace metals are toxic to fish and other aquatic animals, but soluble, chelated trace metals are relatively non-toxic. 

LC50 – the concentration of a substance that is lethal to 50 percent of the organisms exposed to it in a toxicity test – is a useful tool because it can predict the effects of a potential toxin in aquaculture systems.