Before the Outbreak: The Case for Vaccines in Aquaculture

Vaccines are a familiar part of human health. But in aquaculture, they play a quieter, often misunderstood role. In this episode of Salty Talks, we explore how vaccines are used in fish farming and why they matter long before an outbreak ever occurs. Through a panel discussion featuring researchers, veterinarians, and industry experts, we look at how aquaculture approaches disease prevention, and why that approach isn’t always easy to implement. The conversation moves from the technical , how fish vaccines are developed, regulated, and delivered, to something more universal: the challenge of valuing prevention before there’s visible loss. Because in aquaculture, as in many areas of science, the benefits of prevention are often invisible… until they’re not. Along the way, we explore the limits of current tools, the realities of disease risk in different farming systems, and the growing tension between scientific evidence and public perception, especially in a world where conversations about vaccines are already charged. At its core, this episode asks a simple question: Why is it so hard to act before something goes wrong?