Susan Gibson-Kueh
Associate Professor (Aquatic Animal Health)
Tropical Futures Institute
James Cook University
Singapore
Susan is Associate Professor (Aquatic Animal Health) at the Tropical Futures Institute, James Cook University, Singapore. Susan has a broad perspective of tropical aquaculture from three decades of working in governments and academia, and was Head of the Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory, AgriFood and Veterinary Authority of Singapore from 1997-2007. Her expertise is in national disease surveillance, biosecurity, fish health management, diagnostic pathology, microbiology, and the study of novel and complex diseases.
She published the first reports of two serious diseases of barramundi, scale drop viral and big belly disease. She believes that the key to effective disease management lies in advancing current knowledge on how disease kills the fish or pathogenesis, and successfully spreads in a population or epidemiology. She is passionate about promoting livelihoods to empower remote communities through quality education and research, in line with UN sustainable development goals to alleviate poverty. She has a coccidian parasite named after her, Goussia kuehae, taught over 900 veterinary students at Murdoch University, over 200 aquaculture students at James Cook University, supervised one PhD and five Honours students successfully to completion, and is currently supervising three PhD students working on diseases of L. calcarifer.
Susan is a member of the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists in the Medicine and Management of Aquaculture species, by examination.
| Speaker | Disease Mitigation: Management and Innovations |
| Presentation | Diseases in Tropical Finfish Aquaculture: Busting Myths, Pushing Borders |
Abstract
Effective disease management across the animal and plant kingdom requires an in-depth understanding of epidemiology and pathogenesis. Optimising health in aquaculture should be no different to proven strategies in medical and veterinary medicine. There is much innovation in aquaculture nutrition and vaccine development in the last two decades. Investing in better feeds for different fish species, age groups and culture systems are worthwhile due to the costs of feed, and indeed, ‘you become what you eat!’. Yet, when farms experience dying fish or poor growth performance, they are led into a song and dance around ‘bug hunting’! Why? Tropical Aquaculture must learn from the salmon, and the pig and poultry industries. Before we can ‘fix’ disease, stop fish dying at our doorsteps, and practice sustainable aquaculture, we must know how, or if we don’t, we must work collaboratively to optimise fish health and welfare.
Emerging antimicrobial resistance is a symptom of industry at large using antibiotics when there is no need, doing very little to move away from its use, and worst of all, treating the symptoms and not the primary cause of disease. What are myths? Myths are beliefs not supported by scientific knowledge. Chances are fish didn’t die as a direct result of the many bacteria, parasites and viruses that are found. Understanding disease progression has become the cornerstone of advance medical science to fight obesity, heart disease and many other serious diseases. Tropical Aquaculture must embrace the same mindset and strategy. Many wars are lost because generals do not know the enemy. What we do know about some diseases should be considered in strategizing a remedy, and what we must yet discover through research will be discussed.