The Negative Effects of Pesticide Use in Agricultural Production on Aquaculture

Abstract

Pesticides are used to increase Agricultural food crop productions to fulfill the food requirement of growing population. However these pesticides can cause contamination in aquatic ecosystem through different ways like leaching , runoff and drift spray. These contaminants produce toxicity in aquaculture which becomes threatening to aquatic organisms. For example changing behaviour of fish feeding and movement and even leads to fish mortality. Toxic compounds which were reported includes Atrazine, endosulfan, profenofos, diazinon (organophosphorus) and carbofuran (carbamate). These compounds have severe toxicological effects on fish with different concenterations and even sometime in combination. These toxic compounds also cause eradication of inhabitants in aquatic ecosystem so aquatic organisms also become more vulnerable for predators. Reproductive system of fish also disturbed. For instance, pyrethroid pesticides impact fish reproduction-related systems, The capacity of adult male salmon parr (Salmo salar) to recognize and react to the female priming pheromone prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α) was shown to be decreased when exposed to low amounts of cypermethrin. Most Agricultural pesticides undergo physical, chemical, and biological transformations that gives one or more transformation products. When the concentration is high enough to provide such an impact, aquatic creatures may be exposed to both the original compound toxicity and the transformation products. However these transformed products could be more harmful than the original molecule.