Responsible Conduct in Aquaculture Research

The aquaculture industry for food, food product development, and for stock restoration and/or enhancement is highly dependent on well-designed research that has been vetted by the scientific community and disseminated to the end-users who have put their faith and trust in the individuals who conducted the work. Unfortunately every level of science is susceptible to errors, mistakes, and falsification. Researchers have an ethical obligation to the public, their profession, and themselves to maintain the highest levels of integrity.  Accidental and intentionally flawed research can significantly impact the industry’s advancement, the researcher’s institution, and the investigator himself.  When such information “gets out” these oversights may result in the loss of valuable industry investments and/or unproductive research dollars that may ruin businesses, careers, and especially public trust. Federal funding agencies are now requiring researchers to receive directed training in responsible conduct in research.  Formal training in scientific misconduct in areas such as animal welfare, use of humans in research, plagiarism, data protection, ownership and management, and the like is now becoming a part of many research institutions and universities.  This presentation highlights key ethical practices that aquaculture researchers need to incorporate into their scientific efforts to prevent the appearance of scientific misconduct.