The New Aquatic
Animal Health Directive
Towards a Sustainable
Aquaculture Industry for England
14 October 2009
Kevin 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
RG
notifiable diseases
PBM
• Authorisation/registration of NA
NJT
APB’s NO
SJB
• Ensuring compliance with DA
JJH
statutory requirements
CE RA
KRJ
• Provision of advice to Defra RA
and other Government NJC SO
SO
SO AM
AM
AM
agencies PRW NT LT LT
LT
LT
UT
• Provision of industry US AK
AN
production data. AC
LS
• Application of trade controls SH SH AE
NE
NE
on live aquatic animals WA
NE
SL
• Contingency planning NW
HA
SP
KT
SW SX
• Investigations and DE
enforcement CW
• Work on behalf of Jersey, Isle
of Man & other government
bodies e.g. VMD. FSA.

CEFAS Investigations and Enforcement
Illegal 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 Acts
1937 & 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 Directive
A 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 Directive
Council 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 Requirements
Authorisation
• 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

Risk Based Surveillance
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 ranking of farms

MED HIGH HIGH
MED HIGH
LOW
LOW LOW MED

Council Directive 2006/88/EC
Annex 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

Exotic Diseases: Fish
• 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

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 • Non-exotic
– Bonamia exitiosa • Marteilia refringens
– Perkinsus marinus • Bonamia ostreae
– Microcytos mackini

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 Measures
Article 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

Gyrodactylus salaris
• Difficulty in identification with over 400 species described
• Problem for wild fish rather than farms.
• Potentially devastating to wild Atlantic salmon populations
Absent from British Isles

England & Wales: Fish Health Status
2009
Outbreaks Infected Sites
Exotic diseases EUS 0 0
EHN 0 0
Non-exotics ISA 0 0
KHV 10 32
VHS 0 0
IHN 0 0
National G. salaris 0 0
Controls 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