Chemical Residue in Irish Farmed Finfish, 2011

Abstract

On behalf of the Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine (DAFM), the Marine Institute carries out monitoring of chemical residues in aquaculture in accordance with Council Directive 96/23/EC of 29 April 1996, on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in animals and animal products. The main objectives of the Aquaculture National Residue Control Plan (NRCP) is to ensure farmed fish are fit for human consumption, to provide a body of data showing that Irish farmed fish is of high quality, to promote good practices in aquaculture and to comply with EU Directive 96/23. In 2011, in excess of 630 tests and 1,566 individual measurements for substances were carried out on 140 samples of farmed finfish taken on farms and at processing plants for a range of residues. In accordance with Council Directive 96/23/EC, the following species were sampled and tested: Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), freshwater and seareared trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Tests were carried out for banned substances such as growth promoters, and other unauthorised substances such as malachite green, which should not be present. Harvested fish were also tested for authorised veterinary treatments such as antibiotics and sea lice treatments, environmental contaminants such as trace metals, polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides, to check for compliance with Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) where available. As in previous years, no non-compliant results were reported in the surveillance monitoring programme for farmed finfish. Overall, in recent years the outcome for aquaculture remains one of consistently low occurrence of residues in farmed finfish, with 0.23% non-compliant results from routine targeted monitoring in 2004, 0.09% in 2005 and 0% for the period 2006-2011.