aquatic animal health directive and the fish health inspectorate

The New Aquatic Animal Health Directive

Towards a Sustainable Aquaculture Industry for England

14 October 2009Kevin Denham

Cefas, Weymouth laboratory

Fish Health Inspectorate

• The Fish Health Inspectorate is the competent authority for the diagnosis and control of notifiable diseases of fish and shellfish in England and Wales

• Notifiable diseases are generally untreatable, and are likely to have a significant economic impact on aquaculture, and/or wild fish populations.

FHI Core Responsibilities• Surveillance and control of

notifiable diseases• Authorisation/registration of

APB’s• Ensuring compliance with

statutory requirements• Provision of advice to Defra

and other Government agencies

• Provision of industry production data.

• Application of trade controls on live aquatic animals

• Contingency planning• Investigations and

enforcement• Work on behalf of Jersey, Isle

of Man & other government bodies e.g. VMD. FSA.

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CEFAS Investigations and EnforcementIllegal import of 1 Tonne of large carp from France Nov 2006

Transport tanks in rear of van

The Cost!

Humanely slaughtered consignment

Whole Farm Approach

• The FHI provides a field service for research projects in Cefas

• Also undertakes non-disease work– ILFA (licensing non-native species)– Aquaculture advice

• In addition we work for other Government Agencies:– Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD)– Food Standards Agency (FSA)– GM Inspectorate

New Aquatic Animal Health Legislation

Diseases of Fish Acts1937 & 1983

• Introduced restrictions on fish imports– Imports of live fish of the salmon (Salmonidae) family

prohibited– Imports of salmonid eggs and other species only permitted

under licence

• Introduced powers to control fish diseases (notifiable diseases)– Specific diseases prescribed by statutory order (Infected

waters)– Attributed responsibility for notification– Powers to place statutory controls (TDN and DAO)– Register of fish farms

The EC Fish Health DirectiveA single European market measure

• EC Directive 91/67: Concerning the animal health conditions governing the placing on the market of aquaculture animals and products

– Established fish health rules at Community level for rational development of European aquaculture

– Principle that the completion of the internal market must not cause the spread of infectious disease

– Recognised that aquaculture animal health status is not the same throughout Europe.

New Aquatic Animal Health DirectiveCouncil Directive 2006/88/EC

• 91/67 was in response to single European market initiative 15 years ago and 15 member states; now 27.

• Wider emphasis from salmonid to Mediterranean marine and cyprinid cultivation.

• Addresses threats to the new cultivated species and cover the trade practices in the larger community.

• Directed at aquaculture by design but also protects the health status of wild and fishery stocks.

• In preparation for nearly 10 years and was enacted into law through The Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009

New Features

• Covers fish, molluscan and crustacean health and also includes control in the same directive

• Risk based approach to monitoring

• More emphasis on disease prevention rather than control – Biosecurity measures plans

• Disease listing now includes exotic and non-exotic diseases of fish, molluscs and crustaceans

• Much wider scope of businesses included in the Directive

New Features• Contingency plans required for all exotic diseases

• New legislative powers for FHI including:– controls on emerging disease– FHI responsible for all statutory actions (ID’s and CD’s)– Enforcement notices prior to moving to prosecution– Controls on equipment, people and vehicles on infected sites– Powers to seize equipment used in illegal activities e.g. fish

smuggling.

New RequirementsAuthorisation

• Authorisation of aquaculture production businesses (APB’s) including:– Fish, shellfish and crustacean farms – dealers – importers– depuration and dispatch centres and sites processing

infected aquaculture animals

APB’s have conditions of authorisation and enforcement notices can be applied

Authorisation of APB’s• Authorisation will have conditions applied such as: Keeping records in a prescribed format Movement records to include both live and dead

fish whether for food or disposal as waste Recording of places visited and mortalities during

transport A requirement to notify the FHI in advance of any

changes to business practices (e.g. species held) Have an approved biosecurity measures plan

• Legislation allows removal of authorisation should a business persistently breach conditions

Biosecurity measures plans• All APB’s require an approved

biosecurity measures plan• Guidance has been provided

to relevant industry sectors• Including a template for less

well informed businesses• FHI available to APB’s for

advice • Objective is to improve aquatic

animal health status across country

• FHI striving for a long term improvement in biosecurity

COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2006/88/EC requires that

(18) … risk-based animal health surveillance should be applied in all [such] farms and mollusc

farming areas.

Risk Based Surveillance

Risk ranking of farms

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Council Directive 2006/88/ECAnnex IV: Disease list

Health Status of Zones and Compartments

• Category I – Declared disease free

• Category II – Not declared disease free but subject to surveillance programme

• Category III – Not known to be infected but not subject to a surveillance programme

• Category IV – Infected and subject to a control and eradication programme

• Category V – Known to be infected

• Epizootic ulcerative syndrome– Fungal infection – Aphanomyces

invadans– Clinical signs include lesions on the

body with fungal hyphae present.– Large range of freshwater and

estuarine species susceptible– Found across S-E Asia, India and

more recently Africa• Epizootic haemorrhagic necrosis

– Causative agent a Ranavirus in the family Iridoviridae

– Clinical signs include haemorrhaging at base of fins and gills, darkening of skin and distended abdomen

– Virus antigenically and genetically similar to viruses found in amphibia in Europe

– Disease is endemic to Australia

Exotic Diseases: Fish

Non-Exotic Diseases: Fish• Viral haemorrhagic

septicaemia (VHS)

• Infectious haematopoietic necrosis (IHN)

• Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA)

• Koi herpesvirus disease (KHV)

Non-Exotic Diseases: koi herpesvirus

disease

Gill Necrosis

Shellfish Listed Diseases• Exotic

– Bonamia exitiosa– Perkinsus marinus– Microcytos mackini

• Non-exotic• Marteilia refringens• Bonamia ostreae

Shellfish Health Status in England and Wales

• Whole coast is an Approved Zone for Marteilia

• We are an Approved Zone for Bonamia, except for 4 Controlled Areas where Bonamia is present

• We have not identified any other notifiable shellfish diseases

Exotic Diseases: Crustacea• Taura Syndrome and

Yellowhead disease

– Viral infections of Penaeid shrimp– Found throughout the Americas and

Asia– Exotic to the EU– Horizontal and vertical transmission – Both cause up to 100% mortality in

shrimp farms

White Spot Disease (WSD)

• Viral infection, all decapod crustacea potentially susceptible (marine and freshwater)

• Causes disease within European water temperature range

• Currently found in parts of Asia and Americas

• Unknown ‘official’ status in Europe• Possible global spread via live and frozen

animal movements• Some 3rd Countries are already requesting

proof of disease status for imports• Causes up to 100% mortality in shrimp

farms

National Control MeasuresArticle 43

• Article 43 of 2006/88 EC provided provisions for limiting the impact of diseases not listed in the Directive

• GB has National Control measures under Commission Decision 2004/453/EC for SVC, BKD and G.salaris.

• National controls on these diseases, which are considered of high importance, will continue under the the new Directive

Spring Viraemia of Carp• Present throughout much of

Europe• Largest outbreak in UK

occurred in 1988. Since then there have been several smaller sporadic outbreaks

• Disease does not appear to persist in UK environmental conditions, and so can be controlled by movement restrictions.

• Source of infection in most cases can be linked to newly introduced fish, often illegally imported.

Bacterial Kidney Disease• Systemic bacterial infection

found in fish of the family Salmonidae in freshwater and seawater

• Caused by a gram-positive coryneform bacteria Renibacterium salmoninarum

• Fastidious, slow growing organism, disease development is slow.

• Widespread distribution • Currently no effective licensed

treatment or vaccines in Europe

Absent from British Isles

Gyrodactylus salaris• Difficulty in identification with over 400 species described

• Problem for wild fish rather than farms.

• Potentially devastating to wild Atlantic salmon populations

England & Wales: Fish Health Status 2009

Outbreaks Infected SitesExotic diseases EUS 0 0

EHN 0 0

Non-exotics ISA 0 0KHV 10 32VHS 0 0IHN 0 0

National G. salaris 0 0Controls BKD 1 1

SVC 0 1

The Future

• Need to consolidate and embed legislation• Ensure approach is proportionate and fit for

purpose• Improve legislative controls in some areas e.g.

emerging diseases• Budgetary constraints likely – doing more for

less• Need to work in partnership with stakeholders

and other organisations