A national consultation on ‘Aquaculture medicines: Research, policy and implementation’ was held on 8-9 May 2025 at the Basmati Hall, NASC Complex, ICAR, New Delhi. Dr. Kuldeep K. Lal, Director, ICAR-CIBA welcome the guest and set the context of the meeting, explaining the importance of medicines in aquatic animal health management and the need for regulating their use in the country. President of the program Dr. J.K. Jena, DDG (FS), ICAR, New Delhi in his address stressed the importance of collaborative works carried out in the network project. Expressed his happiness for being able to translate the research work into an actionable policy document. Shri Sagar Mehra, Joint Secretary, Dept of Fisheries, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Govt India, New Delhi was the chief guest of the program. During his felicitation address, he opined that this type of information is an urgent need for the government, both at national and international forums to establish confidence on the safety of Indian fish and fisheries products.
In the first technical session on diseases of aquatic animals and their management, Dr. P.K.Sahoo presented the topic ‘Challenges in management of aquaculture diseases, prevention and therapeutic applications’. Mr. P. Anil Kumar, Joint Director, MPEDA, Kochi, presented the challenges faced in the international trade of fishery products due to presence of residues. Mr. Rama Shankar Naik, Commissioner of Fisheries, Govt. Andhra Pradesh presented the status of aquaculture medicine use and the regulatory measures in place in the state. Dr.R.Geetha, Senior Scientist, ICAR-CIBA, Chennai presented the details of the economic loss due to diseases to Indian aquaculture and Dr.T.J. Abraham, Head Aquatic Animal Health, WBUAFS, Kolkata presented on the usage pattern of chemical and medicines in Indian aquaculture.
During the second technical session on ‘Therapeutic management of aquatic animal diseases’ Mr. Palani Kumar, Assistant Director, Export Inspection Council (EIC), Govt. India, New Delhi presented the current testing protocols of Indian fishery products intended for exports. Dr. Gouri Shankar, Deputy Drug Controller, Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Govt. India, New Delhi presented the current regulatory provisions for the use of medicines in food animal production.
On the second day, a group panel discussion was held for three groups, the ‘Antimicrobial agents group’ coordinated by Dr. Raja Swaminathan, Principal Scientist and the Head, ICAR-CIFT, Cochin, the ‘Antiparasitic agents group’ coordinated by Dr. K.V.Rajendran, Principal Scientist (Rtd.), ICAR-CIFE, Mumbai and the ‘Disinfectants group’ coordinated by Dr.Neeraj Sood, Principal Scientist, ICAR-NBFGR, Lucknow. The groups discussed on various aspects like, internationally approved medicines for food animal production including aquaculture; data available on the medicines for use in Indian aquaculture; gap in the knowledge on the generation of data and policy suggestions for use in Indian aquaculture. Following the group discussion, the coordinators of each group presented their outcomes and submitted their recommendations. Following the panel discussion and the group presentation, Dr. P.K.Patil, Principal Scientist, ICAR-CIBA, Chennai proposed a road map for the market authorization of aquaculture medicines in India, which was deliberated by all the experts participating in the meeting.
The plenary session was chaired by Dr. Iddya Karunasagar and Dr. A.G.Ponniah was the Co-Chair. A detailed discussion was held on all aspects of aquaculture medicine authorization and regulations in the country and international scenario and compliance requirements by different authorities. The house appreciated the efforts of the project team for bringing the research findings to the level of policy implementation. The recommendations of the groups were tabled and pointwise deliberations have led to the preparation of a document for submission to the ministry through the SMD. Dr.Devika Pillai, ADG, ICAR proposed the vote of thanks.
The consultation meeting was arranged to deliberate on the research findings of All India Network Project on Fish Health (AINP_FH), a ICAR-funded collaborative project with eight ICAR institutes of the fisheries division and two state agriculture universities. The overall objective was to suggest regulatory guidelines for market authorization of medicines and chemicals for use in Indian aquaculture.
