Catastrophic mass mortalities caused by Photobacterium damselae affecting farmed marine fish from Deeba Triangle, Egypt

Abstract

Farmed marine fish constitute 20% of the total farmed fish production in Egypt, and the Deeba Triangle produces a relatively large portion of this percentage. Last year, several private fish farms in the Deeba Triangle have suffered severe economic losses due to acute fish mass kills. This study aimed to investigate the hidden aetiologies behind these colossal mass fish kills and to propose an emergency control strategy. Several tons of dead farmed fish were remarkably scattered throughout affected ponds and at the vicinity of impacted fish farms. Moribund farmed European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), thin-lipped grey mullet (Liza ramada) and gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) have exhibited skin darkness, emaciation, congested gills and fins, ascites, skin erosions and ulcerations. Internally, moribund fish emitted unpleasant odour upon opening the abdomen together with severe congestion and haemorrhages in kidneys and brain. Mottled atrophied spleens were the most prominent findings, while the gastrointestinal tracts were filled with whitish caseous material. The liver was pale with multiple whitish nodules. Photobacterium damselae was the most retrievable bacterial pathogen from most infected fish and trash fish. Photobacterium damselae subspecies piscicida and Photobacterium damselae subspecies damselae were definitively identified from examined moribund fish using both conventional morpho-chemical and molecular assays. Data analysis has revealed that the poor water quality was profoundly incriminated in triggering the bacterial infections with a fate of mass mortalities. Conclusively, adopting various strict biosecurity strategies will be the key factors in prevention of future episodes of mass kills.