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Aquaculture through fish farming is a growing industry which contributes significantly to food security as a source of food and nutrients. However, it faces challenges due to bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance, which negatively impacts the industry, food security and public health. Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) offer a novel and innovative alternative to existing antibacterial agents due to their small size, tunable properties, and multiple mechanisms of activity against microbes. ENPs thus provide fresh approaches for controlling fish pathogenic bacteria and managing bacterial diseases in farmed fish. In this review, metallic and non-metallic ENPs, with antibacterial activity against fish pathogenic bacteria are explored. Their mechanism of action and efficacy are discussed, together with the opportunities and challenges associated with their use in infection control and management in fish farms. This information is important for the development of sustainable solutions towards alleviating disease outbreaks originating from fish pathogenic bacteria and for promoting fish health.

Engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) have gained attention in the world of technology due to their diverse and unique properties compared to their pristine counterparts. Their tunable physical, chemical, and biological properties make them applicable in various fields including the environment, agriculture, and medicine or biotechnology. Consequently, there is a rapid increase in ENPs waste in the environment. This raises questions about what will become of the waste and the potential environmental toxicity and health risks. Knowledge of their fate in the environment helps control/manage their usage mostly taking advantage of the initiatives of the circular economy (reuse, reduce and recycle). In this review, the fate of ENPs in aquatic systems is highlighted. Different ENP transformations in aquatic systems are explained. Additionally, uptake, internalization, and toxicity in fish are elaborated together with some toxicity mechanisms. Finally, the biomagnification of these ENPs up the food chain is illustrated considering that fish are a good source of nutrients and play a major role in addressing food security issues worldwide. The information used in this review was obtained mostly from published articles (obtained through google scholar) and other internet sources with the keywords being ENPs transformation in natural aquatic systems, ENP toxicity to fish, mechanism of ENP toxicity to fish, and bioaccumulation of ENPs in fish.