Use of Probiotics in Commercially Important Finfish Aquaculture

Abstract

Finfish aquaculture is one of the quickly developing food industries in the world. But, the major drawbacks of this industry are the frequent outbreak of infectious diseases due to elevated stress in an intensive culture system. Antibiotics are extensively used to combat these diseases. Prophylactic administrations of antibiotics in aquaculture lead to the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant pathogens which indirectly cause a risk to health of human. Therefore, hard rules and regulations have been established in various countries to minimize or ban the application of antibiotics in finfish aquaculture. Recently probiotics have garnered significant attraction as an alternative measure for disease prevention in aquaculture. Probiotics increase health status, disease resistance, growth performance and feed utilization through improving hosts microbial balance. This review presents the summary and discussion of the results of the effects of probiotic administration in the culture of commercially important finfish. Besides, the current study attempts to explore the gap in present scientific information as well as suggests concerns that worth further research.