Stop Poisoning Fish With Antibiotics and Pesticides

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fish_Farm_Zorak_01.jpg

Target: FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock

Goal: Crack down on the methods used in administering drugs in our fisheries.

Farm-raised fish accounts for well over 50% of all seafood consumed by humans, and the lack of regulations and oversight is appalling. The FDA has approved at least 16 drugs, including but not limited to antibiotics, pesticides, and anti-parasitics, for use in farm-raised fish intended for human consumption. Among these are antibiotics such as Amoxicillin. This, along with the fact that the FDA is fully aware of farmers’ use of unapproved drugs, raises many concerns in regards to public health.

Obviously, these drugs don’t stay confined in the tanks, which are emptied into nearby waterways and leach into the soil despite many farms claiming to have efficient filtration systems. This results in the harm and contamination of indigenous aquatic life, land-dwelling creatures, and our drinking water. Another equally critical fact is that administering the same antibiotics to our food sources as the ones that are used to treat both humans and domestic animals can cause germ resistance to build and therefore render these drugs ineffective.

There are more sustainable alternatives to the use of these drugs, but it will take stricter oversight by the FDA and other governing bodies to create and enforce these new procedures. This is not a far-fetched notion. If cattle and chicken farmers have been able to control disease without antibiotics, so can fisheries. With our rapidly increasing population comes a growing demand for a higher volume of food which calls for more and larger fish farms which, at the rate we’re going, will increase the already alarming levels of contamination of our water, land, and food. It’s time to do the right thing and get a grasp on this situation before the damage becomes even more dire.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Commissioner Woodcock,

Our nation’s fisheries are being poisoned with antibiotics, pesticides, and anti-parasitics, which, in turn, are contaminating our food and water supply. We demand tougher regulations on the amounts and types of drugs administered in these aquafarms, and a push to phase out their usage completely in as many farms as possible. An incentivized system for creating a more sustainable farming structure needs to be put in place, and a more thorough system of monitoring needs to be enacted immediately.

One focus of the monitoring needs to be the use of unapproved drugs, which should be forbidden and punishable by law. Another issue to be addressed is raising the standards of the filtration systems and drainage/leakage protocols. Finally, the amounts of approved products used at each establishment need to be documented, analyzed, and eventually reduced drastically or even eradicated completely. 

If livestock farmers have been able to thrive with an environmentally friendly, pesticide-free, and antibiotic-free business model, I’m sure the fish farmers are able to do the same. The implementation of these new standards has to start at the top, beginning with the FDA. Please take action now and reign in the careless and irresponsible practices of this industry.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Narek75


17 Comments

  1. STOP POISONING ALL FISH IMMEDIATELY!!!!

  2. All wildlife from bees to animals need to be protected, forever, from thrill-killers to the greed of those that are only thinking of themselves and their profits. IN MY OPINION

  3. Maria Bertrand says:

    FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock

    Please do your job and find safe alternatives. Poisoning everything is JUST SO WRONG!!!!

    STOP EATING FISH. PERIOD.

  4. Dina Macchia says:

    Stop poisoning fish!

  5. Virginia Gonzalez says:

    Stop poisoning fish!!!

  6. Our Oceans should NOT be having pesticides and herbicides dumped, or allowed to be put in. . . . Our Fish and ocean animals become sick from them. They become FRANKENFISH. This is ABNORMAL and these ppisons NEED TO BE BANNED AND OUTLAWED from usage immediately.

  7. Annette & Jeff Patrone says:

    We Agree 100% with all of you!! SIGNED!!

  8. Lets hope these people take notice

  9. I agree with these comments. I do think Janet Woodstock needs to do a better job. But we can’t wait. The fish farms are poisoning our water, wildlife, animals, fish, sea beds, coral and so much more. There needs to be oversight for these fish farming companies. Pesticides and toxic chemicals need to stop, now! We can’t atop eating fish but we can eat less. People would be healthier if we ate a balance of fish, meat, and vegetables. Extremes are difficult for most people, I understand. Yet small changes can make an extensive amount of difference. It begins with the individual. We can’t continue to eat what is thrown at us but need to see that the food we consume is decent and not polluting everything else. Livestock farmers have been able to thrive without chemicals, antibiotics, etc. so I am sure the fish industry can do the same. We the people must demand more from our food sources and government oversight. It can be done and problems resolved but we must be the the first to change then all else will change with us. Consumers have power. Savvy business has foresight. Walking through the grocery store I notice companies making changes to packaging, formulas, and the like, even before the consumer threatens not to purchase their products. I see that as a good sign. No one buys, they go belly up!

  10. Fish farms are just another form of factory farming. Poor fish. It’s all wrong and needs to end.

  11. FISH FARMING is a SHOCKING ATROCITY for the environment, oceans and bestially tormented FISH. Leave ALL animals ALONE!!!
    The FUTURE is VEGAN!

  12. 🥰🥰🥰 Thank you for your comment. I totally agree.

  13. Jane Todaro says:

    These fish farms need to be abolished. And we need to end the abuse of antibiotics and the pollution of our drinking water.

  14. Muriel Servaege says:

    You poison fish today and they’ll be eaten tomorrow. How dare you do that? Do you eat your poisoned fish?

  15. Eliminate the corrupt FDA. There’s your answer.

  16. THANKS MONSTER TO POISON ALL THE PEOPLE WHO EAT THIS FISH. YOU ARE MURERERS.

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