Antimicrobial resistance in Indian shrimp farms

In India, animal farming is often presented as the main cause for the deve lopment of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in the environment. On top of being one of the pillars of global pharmaceutical production, India is also one major provider of food animals at the global scale. The importance of pharmaceutical manufacturing and the large activity of animal farming have turned the presence of antibiotic residues and resistant genes in the environment into a worrying phenomenon (Gandra et al 2017). Even though measures (monitoring practices) have been included in the national plan to fight against AMR in agriculture and the environment, these topics have remained relatively neglected so far (Taneja & Sharma 2019) and AMR in animals has increased by 50% since 2000 (Schar et al., 2021).

Aquaculture constitutes an original and fruitful case-study to investigate how the animal/environment boundary is shaped with regards to AMR management. The direct dissemination of both residues and resistance from pools into rivers favours a situation where technologies, controversies and actors are at the heart of this raising concern that is antimicrobial pollution. In this project, the team from India will focus on the shrimp industry in Tamil Nadu as the major subject for the AMR research. Over the years, the significance of export value that the industry has attained and the attention that this industry has received in terms of being guided by a specific statute law- the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005 - calls for research on the standing on AMR of this specific industry.

Aquaculture in South India

Aquaculture has become the fastest growing sector of food production in the world and most of the production takes place in low and middle-income countries (Thornber et al. 2020). In India, shrimp culture became the most effective aquacultured species among any aquatic species, and became the largest marine exported products of India. However, in recent years, the continued detection of salmonella and banned antibiotics in Indian shrimp by US FDA raises attention towards the development and spread of antimicrobial resistant pathogens in the shrimp farming industry.

Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have emerged as multi-drug-resistant hotspots (Schar et al., 2021). In these shrimp growing areas, untreated waste is often directly eliminated into local water sources. High levels of antimicrobial resistant bacteria have been reported in the environment local to shrimp farms and that AMR genes have been shown to persist in the environment close to aquaculture sites even after antibiotic use has ceased. However, the new tools, resident & grassroots mobilisations, as well as research teams working on the issue & methods used for disease & AMR management (and the political & economic obstacles they face) are barely studied in the Indian context. The STATIC project wants to fill this gap.

Shrimp industry and AMR regulations

The shrimp industry in India is majorly dependent on the demands of the global market and export. The country ever since, 1980s, has evolved into an hotspot for the cultured shrimp processing industry and has raised itself gradually to a top exporter of shrimp. The political economy of shrimp industry clearly has repartition of roles. On one hand, the farms that culture/grow shrimp takes up the longest tenure of span and space in the life cycle of shrimp cycle, carried out by local farmers, encouraged through constant intervention of the State and the development of various research institutions. While on the other hand, multi-level private corporations are engaged in private hatcheries, feed, pharmaceutical and export industries which in a way control the local farmers as well. Apparently the tendency of long distance travel and high export value of shrimp increasingly has made this industry prone to AMR.

Starting from the import of broodstock majorly from USA till the export (again majorly back to USA), the shrimp industry involves various man-handled artificial processes. These are regulated, guided and monitored by a central agency called the Coastal Aquaculture Authority. However, in the whole chain among farms, hatcheries, feed and pharmaceutical companies and the export and processing industries, the statutes and laws of CAA are applicable only to the farms and the hatcheries. While, the feed, pharmaceutical and the export companies are only monitored loosely prevailing by the law of the National Action Plan for Antimicrobial Resistant (2017-2025). Therefore, it becomes crucial to study the prevailing legislative norms on aquaculture and AMR in India along with the value chain of the shrimp industry.

Shrimp farming and environmental mobilisations

In the 1990s, the civil societies started educating the public on the environmental impacts of commercial shrimp farming. In some regions, political parties, especially left parties, also mobilised peasants and the working class to fight against this commercial farming. Three major reasons stated then were loss of agricultural lands / livelihoods, impacts of wastewater disposal (from these farms) on ecology and salinization of aquifers. AMR was not the topic of discussion then (and also now). These mobilisations culminated in a court battle between Jaganathan vs Union of India in the Supreme Court of India. The judgment from this battle gave rise to the legislation of Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005.

The representations / mobilisations that followed this legislation were mostly to implement the various clauses of this act. It is a documented fact now that this authority has not lived up to its expectations and was lenient to market forces. In the last decade, the environmental activists have taken up the mantle to challenge the power of commercial shrimp farmers as large-scale mobilisation has become a non- viable option. In the STATIC project, we will be documenting and analysing some of the major social mobilisations, publications and legal battles against the commercial shrimp farms / farmers.