As the science of fish -management comes of age, opportunities are increasing for veterinarians who have special training in many different areas of aquatic animal medicine. These areas range from fish health certification for released and translocated wild fish to aquatic food safety, and span the variety of health issues implicit in freshwater aquaculture, mariculture, marine mammal medicine, and fish health management of ornamental fish.

Each of these areas is expanding rapidly. The extent of aquaculture alone suggests that trained personnel are required. A recent review of current aquaculture production (Sperber, 1992) shows that 1992 channel catfish production amounted to 425-450 million pounds of live-weight marketed fish. Trout raceways (primarily located in Idaho, but also in 24 other states) produced 55 million pounds of trout. This figure was matched or exceeded by salmon production in coastal net pens of the Pacific Northwest and in chilly northern Atlantic waters (USDA, 1991). In addition, the United States is a leading farmer of oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops. Obviously, U.S. aquaculture is successful and expanding. In this, it is assisted by a base of trained fisheries scientists with expertise in fish production, nutrition, and fish health management. That there is still room for improvement in the latter is evident from estimates that disease is responsible for 50% of all farmed catfish deaths and 75% of farmed trout deaths.

The Changing Veterinary Curriculum

Historically, veterinary medical curricula have evolved in response to a variety of stimuli, usually from outside the profession. In some cases, this evolution has been conscious. The expectation has been that if training is changed to meet the needs of society, society in turn will support the veterinarian with fair compensation. In other cases, the evolution has been unconscious, a classical example being the gradual change in target species from the later 1800s to the present time. The progression from horses to cattle and eventually to swine, small ruminants, companion animals, and poultry is well documented.

The perceived need by society for veterinary medicine in food animal medicine production is oftentimes myopic. It seldom goes beyond care delivery to animals. It fails to see or does not understand the need for diagnosis, pathogenesis, etiology, therapeutic and preventive medicine research.

Presently the trend towards larger agricultural production units has created a need for veterinarians who are comfortable with agri-economics, computers, nutrition, food safety, epidemiology, and environmental issues, in addition to the traditional care of individual animals. Such evolutionary pressures upon the curriculum have been most pronounced in those areas of veterinary medicine which involve the poultry industry, but the swine and cattle industry are following close behind.

It is generally accepted that veterinary students aspiring to a career in any specialty area--be it food production medicine, companion animal medicine, or aquaculture--require special training in that area. There is less consensus on the best mechanism for providing that training.

The Present Situation in Aquatic Animal Medicine

It seems clear that veterinary medicine is responding to society's needs for veterinarians with some training in aquatic medicine. A recent survey of colleges and schools of veterinary medicine found that 24 of the 31 institutions offered some aquatic medicine training to veterinary students (Purchase, Gloyd & Pitts, 1993). Survey data also indicated that within North American veterinary schools or colleges, 53 full-time-equivalent appointments are devoted solely to aquatic medicine training and 70 graduate students are in training.

It is also clear, however, that veterinary educators face problems regarding training in aquatic animal medicine. These include the problems of funding for trained faculty, space and facility requirements, and how to fit aquatic medicine courses into an already saturated curriculum.

How and where should such educational needs be met? In the traditional four-year veterinary curriculum? In an intern or residency program? In a Master's or professional degree program? Some institutions provide formalized training programs within veterinary colleges as part of pre-DVM curricula, others at graduate levels. In addition, training programs for veterinarians have been offered outside regular academic channels as short courses of varying lengths, such as those presented by veterinary colleges in Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Let's take a brief look at some of these options.

Option One: Add an Aquatic Medicine Course to the Present DVM Curriculum

At present, the addition of an introductory course in aquatic medicine is probably the most widely used option. An estimated 37% of veterinary students who graduated in 1992 had completed such a course (Purchase, Gloyd & Pitts, 1993).

An area which fits neatly into current veterinary curricula is tropical fish medicine. Approximately 20 million U.S. families own tropical fish. People name their fish, which suggests a strong human-animal bond that directly translates into a need for good service. From having taught such a course for 15 years, in addition to conducting short courses in the subject, I can attest to the fact that people want professional service for fish and that there are veterinarians in practice who deliver excellent service. Fish are usually covered by the Veterinary Practice Act in most states, another fact that strongly suggests that this area should be developed. The future status of the availability of over-the-counter medications for fish in retail outlets is clouded. At present, veterinarians can legally use off-label drugs in pet fish health management with four "ifs"--if a professional relationship with the owner is established, if a diagnosis is given, if the medication is appropriately labeled, and if the veterinarian indicates that the medication is not officially approved for use in fish.

At the University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine, we offer second-year veterinary students a course in Fish Health Management which is especially designed around providing service to tropical fish breeders, wholesalers, retailers, hobbyists, and individuals with outdoor ornamental fish ponds. The course is elective and is taken by 30 to 40 students each year. Presenting a course relatively early in the curriculum has stimulated students to acquire aquaria and practice management techniques early in their careers.

But are such introductory courses enough? Is a veterinary student without previous aquaculture training or experience qualified for a position in the aquaculture industry without additional training? In my opinion, no. Despite such ongoing courses, the depth of training required is not currently available in most veterinary colleges under the constrictions of present curricula. (Naturally, veterinary students with a fisheries background may be the exception.) Providing students with a depth of knowledge in any one aspect of aquaculture within the confines of a veterinary curriculum is as complicated as training students with in-depth knowledge of poultry health, microbiology, pathology, toxicology, or small animal orthopedic surgery. For this reason, some additional options should be considered.

Option Two: The "Tracking" Approach to a DVM Degree

One approach to in-depth training within the veterinary curriculum (on any subject) is referred to as "tracking." The term "majors" may be preferable. This concept arose because some students who know their career plans at the onset of training would prefer to direct that training toward their ultimate specialty.

The tracking concept is controversial, in that it would depart from the broad-based approach of classical veterinary medicine wherein a fixed amount of time is devoted to traditional courses dealing with both pet and food-producing animals. Under a straight tracking system, the veterinary curriculum would consist of a number of parallel sets of specialized curricula or "tracks," each occupied by students with a particular interest.

This option has a number of problems. Educators realize that a tracking system would play havoc with schedules, and probably would require new positions, expanded facilities, and/or more instructional time on the part of professors. Certain specialized tracks might be available only at a few veterinary schools, whereas the principal tracks commonly associated with traditional veterinary curricula would be common to all schools. Tracking programs might not be accepted by veterinary examining boards which adhere to examinations based on traditional curricula. One possibility being discussed would be for future state examining boards to grant limited licensure based on a specific clinical competency examination. Such examinations could include specialties such as avian medicine and aquatic animal medicine.

Option Three: A Modified-Tracking DVM Program

Because of the problems inherent in a straight tracking concept, a modified version of a tracking system seems worth considering. This option has been used successfully in other academic fields, often in cooperation with other academic units.

In modified tracking, all veterinary students would be provided with a core curriculum that includes the basic knowledge of production problems and diseases dealt with in traditional curricula. Clinical rotations would then be modified to allow in-depth study of a particular subject area. Study programs would be designed to meet the needs of the student through advanced courses, research projects, specific clinical opportunities, and selected externships. Cooperation with fisheries departments would be mandatory in extending such a modified-tracking elective.

Realistically, one would not expect students who have followed a modified tracking program in an aquatic medicine-related field to have the specialized knowledge that a master's or doctoral level student in this field would possess. However, a tracking option could easily lead into advanced training.

Option Four: Post-DVM Aquatic Medicine Training

Basic training at the graduate level will continue to be an important source of instructors and innovators in aquatic animal medicine at every level. Consider the 57 full-time-equivalent faculty members engaged in aquatic medicine in North American veterinary schools or colleges. Whether it be an MS and/or a PhD, the advanced degree which they possess probably was granted based on work submitted in some basic discipline such as microbiology, pathology, physiology, or toxicology. Highly trained experts in these basic disciplines will find positions in aquaculture-related fields.

Veterinarians with advanced training in toxicology, immunology, and molecular genetics will play an important role in the future of aquaculture. Transgenic studies with fish have the potential of creating hybrids with innate disease resistance, superior food conversion, and meat quality. Recently Clark, McGraw, and Dickerson (1992) isolated genes from the common fish parasite, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis, which code for surface antigens. This finding holds promise for the development of an easily administered vaccine for fish. There is a need for toxicologists to define those elusive toxicants in water which induce sublethal effects and to conduct studies on the fate of potential therapeutics in fish.

Advanced training programs could include internships and professional degree programs. These could take any of several different forms. The Master of Avian Medicine (MAM) program at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Georgia provides a good model. The curriculum consists of formal courses in poultry nutrition, management, diagnostic bacteriology and virology, and avian histopathology. Disease investigation and diagnosis are an important part of the program. During the 18 month program, students are expected to present one seminar and write one scientific paper. Two to three MAM students are graduated each year compared to 8 to 10 students in traditional MS and PhD programs either in Medical Microbiology or Veterinary Pathology.

The initiation of the MAM degree was dependent on the needs of the poultry industry that would provide positions for graduates, a strong faculty qualified in a variety of subspecialties, funding, and cooperation with other poultry scientists at the University. Similar programs in aquatic animal medicine would have to have the same elements: an identifiable need and the promise of positions, a strong faculty with expertise in subspecialties, funding, and inter-college participation in formulating a program.

Summary

The establishment of training opportunities for aquatic animal medicine, like other curricular changes, will be driven by a complex of factors, including society's needs, opportunities for employment and income potential. Whether we plan a comprehensive approach or not, veterinary medical colleges will be called upon to provide that training. Forethought, reasoned decisions, and active cooperation among professional societies and colleges of veterinary medicine will ease the inevitable curricular evolution needed to provide this vital service.

References

1.  Clark TG, McGraw RA, Dickerson HS. Developmental expression of simple antigen genes in the parasitic ciliate, Ichthyophthirius multifiliis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1992; 89:6363-6367.

2.  Purchase HG, Gloyd J. Pitts JL. Opportunities for veterinarians in aquaculture. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1993; 202(5):734-737.

3.  Sperber RM. Aquaculture's growing pains. Food Process. 1992; (Aug):49-54.

4.  USDA. Aquaculture situation and outlook report. Washington, DC: Economic Research Services, September 1991.