Abstract
Disease is a major challenge that limits aquaculture production and productivity globally. Intensification of aquaculture has led to enhanced risk of disease emergence, although the increased control with the production process enhances the ability to prevent or handle disease. While disease management requires significant investment in disease control, the largest cost associated with disease is most often foregone revenue even when extreme preventative and treatment costs are incurred. However, despite the significant challenges associated with disease, the losses associated with disease in aquaculture are poorly documented, and there are surprisingly few recent estimates despite the continued rapid increase in aquaculture production. The FAO estimated losses to the global aquaculture industry were $6 billion per year over a decade ago, and more recent studies quantifying the economic costs typically focus on specific diseases, species, or regions, precluding a comprehensive understanding of the magnitude of disease at a global scale and how the challenges differ by species. Most published studies also document losses in wealthy countries despite these countries contributing a relatively small share of global aquaculture production.
In this paper we will provide estimates of disease cost in aquaculture globally, as well as by species and country. We estimate the global production losses to be $16.0 billion per year or 5.1% of the global production value. The losses rates vary significantly by species, with shrimp having the highest loss rate with 29.6%. With its high production value it then makes up about one quarter of the total disease cost in aquaculture.