Parasites for FishBase-SeaLifeBase

Parasites have an impact

Parasites make up a large part of global biodiversity and provide various ecosystem services, but can also negatively impact economically important species. Increasing our understanding of parasite diversity and how they impact their hosts will contribute to a better understanding of major factors that impact global aquaculture and wild fish stocks. By integrating host-parasite data into the FishBase-SeaLifeBase data framework, we will provide/adress:

• Better diagnostics: our contribution will enable for the faster identification of disease outbreaks in captive and wild fish stocks.

• Policy impact: we will implement the compilation of peer-reviewed scientific data concerning parasites to support sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management.

• Global connectivity: syncing data between FishBase-SeaLifeBase, WoRMS, and FADA to ensure researchers have the most up-to-date taxonomic and ecological data of parasites at their fingertips.

How you can contribute

We have to start somewhere. Currently, we are defining our priorities to make our data collection effort as relevant as possible to you/stakeholders. Whether you are an academic researcher, a fish health professional, or an industry stakeholder, or working with fishes in any other capacity, your input directly shapes the tools we build.

Fill out the survey to determine our priorities

We are identifying 45 fish species as targets for comprehensive parasitological updates. Help us to kind out which fish species matters most to you:

• 15 aquaculture species (farmed)

• 15 fishery targets (wild stocks)

• 15 ornamental species (captive/trade)

The survey also gives you the opportunity to inform us about the aquatic parasites and diseases you find important.