In addition to harms posed by overfishing, aquaculture can pose imminent threats to the environment and wildlife in several ways, most notably by allowing fish to escape their facilities and invade wild habitats:
Furthermore, dumping of aquaculture facility wastes into open ocean waters can destroy fragile marine environments. Antibiotics used to prophylactically treat fish can bioaccumulate in wild marine animals and harm critical ocean bacteria, and harmful pesticides used to control sea lice and protect fish eggs can poison complex marine environments.