Procedures For The Quarantine Of Live Aquatic Animals

Quarantine programmes form part of a first time of defence against possible adverse effects resulting from the transboundary movement of aquatic species. Although codes of practice for the international movement of aquatic animals have been developed by various international organisations, in many countries they have rarely been applied. Nevertheless, they provide a starting point for designing national and regional fish health regulations as well as international agreements aimed at preventing the spread of aquatic animal pathogens. To assist the countries of Asia in formulating technical guidelines on health certification and quarantine for the responsible transboundary movement of aquatic animals, FAO, in collaboration with the Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA), the Aquatic Animal Health Research Institute of the Thai Department of Fisheries (AAHRI) and the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), conducted a workshop in January 1996 in Bangkok, Thailand to review the existing knowledge on aquatic animal quarantine and health certification in Asia and to develop an agreed-upon strategy for the formulation of technical guidelines. This document contains ten country papers presented at the workshop, some technical background information on general principles of aquatic animal quarantine, existing codes of practice, the agreed-upon strategy and the recommendations of the workshop. Contents Section I: Background to the Workshop Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Objectives of the Workshop; Chapter 3: Background; Chapter 4: Regional Approach; Chapter 5: Previous Regional Recommendations; Chapter 6: Socio-economic Importance of Diseases; Chapter 7: Way Forwards. Section II: The Workshop Chapter 1: Opening Ceremony; Chapter 2: Presentation of Country Reports; Chapter 3: Workshop Discussion; Chapter 4: Fundamental Principles for Regional Quarantine; Chapter 5: Proposed Regional Strategy; Chapter 6: Workshop Closing Remarks. Annexures Annex 1: Workshop Programme; Annex 2: List of Workshop Participants; Annex 3: Keynote Address; Annex 4: Welcome Address; Annex 5: Country Reports: Bangladesh, Cambodia, P R China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Thailand; Annex 6: General Principles for Regional Quarantine; Annex 7: Regional Strategy; Annex 8: Quarantine Codes, Practices, Procedures and Guidelines; Annex 9: Bibliography of Selected Literature Relevant to Aquatic Animal Quarantine and Health Certification in Asia.

Quarantine is an important risk management measure and a key activity that should be considered when developing national strategies for aquatic animal health management. It can also be used effectively to increase biosecurity at the farm production level. This manual outlines the technical requirements for setting up quarantine facilities at three levels, based on the general level of risk (as determined by risk analysis) represented by the specific consignment of aquatic animals being moved: (i) the quarantine of "high risk" species (e.g. aquatic animals being moved either internationally through introductions and transfers or domestically between regions of different health status that are destined for use in aquaculture, capture fishery development or other applications where release or escape of animals or any pathogens they may be carrying into the natural environment is likely to occur; (ii) the quarantine of "lower risk" species (e.g. aquatic animals destined for the ornamental trade) to improve biosecurity for aquatic animals whose trade is an established practice; and (iii) the routine quarantine of aquatic animals at production facilities (e.g. new, domestically produced or locally captured broodstock or juveniles or animals whose movement has been contingent upon additional, more stringent, risk management measures, such as the use of Specific Pathogen Free stocks, international health certification, pre-border and/or border quarantine, etc.). This manual should be useful to government policy-makers and responsible national and state agencies in assessing their need for quarantine capacity and in implementing aquatic animal quarantine in an effective and cost-efficient manner within the framework of national and state aquatic biosecurity programmes. It also provides useful guidance to responsible agencies, their technical staff and the private sector in setting up of effective quarantine facilities and their daily operation.

This publication provides background material and detailed technical procedures to assist countries and territories in Asia in implementing the Asia regional technical guidelines on health management for the responsible movement of live aquatic animals. The technical guidelines and their associated implementation plan, the Beijing consensus and implementation strategy (BCIS) (See FAO Fisheries Technical Paper no. 402), provide expert guidance for national and regional efforts to reduce the risks of disease due to transboundary movement of live aquatic animals.

Technical guidelines on Asia regional health management for the responsible transboundary movement of live aquatic animals were developed and presented to the participating countries at a workshop held in Beijing, China, from 27 to 30 June 2000.

This document contains ten country papers presented at the workshop, some technical background information on general principles of aquatic animal quanantine, existing Codes of Practice, the agreed-upon-strategy, and the recommendations of the workshop.

This report documents the accomplishments of the FAO Project TCP/MIC/3603/C2 – “National Aquatic Animal Health and Biosecurity Strategy” that was implemented in 2019 for the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). These include the following: (i) Round-table discussions on aquaculture development, biosecurity legislation, aquatic animal health and aquaculture biosecurity (21–22 May 2019); (ii) Technical Seminar on Basic Aquatic Animal Health and Aquaculture Biosecurity (23 May 2019); (iii) National Consultation on Aquaculture Development, Biosecurity Legislation, Aquatic Animal Health (24 May 2019); and (iv) Introductory training course on risk analysis within the Progressive Management Pathway for Improving Aquaculture Biosecurity (PMP/AB) (27–28 May 2019). The various activities undertaken during the field mission provided the basis for drafting the National Strategy on Aquatic Animal Health (NSAAH) and the National Aquatic Pathogen List (NAPL) for FSM. There is a need to conduct another round of national consultations in order to generate feedback prior to finalizing the documents and approval. The next step will be to incorporate them into the government’s policy documents and work with partners for joint resource mobilization to support implementation. The report also contains a list of recommendations that the Government of FSM should consider to improve capacities in aquatic animal health and aquaculture biosecurity.

The Federated States of Micronesia’s National Strategy on Aquatic Animal Health 2021–2024, a broad and comprehensive strategy to build and enhance capacity for the management of national aquaculture biosecurity and aquatic animal health, was developed under FAO’s Project TCP/MIC/3603/C2: “National Aquatic Animal Health and Biosecurity Strategy”. The FSM’s NSAAH has taken into consideration a new initiative that FAO and partners have developed – the Progressive Management Pathway for Improving Aquaculture Biosecurity (PMP/AB). The application of the NSAAH has now expanded to fit as an important element of the PMP/AB.This initial strategy document outlines 15 major Programmes that will assist in developing a national approach to overall management of national aquaculture biosecurity and aquatic animal health. To complete this draft document, the Competent Authority (the Department of Resources and Development, R&D) should review the brief summaries of key projects suggested to be of immediate high priority to be accomplished under each of the 15 Programmes, modifying or adding to these as appropriate. The R&D will also need to develop an associated Implementation Plan for the National Strategy on Aquatic Animal Health (NSAAH) that identifies the activities that must be accomplished, the responsible sector(s) (government, private sector, and/or academia), the key staff, details of each project, the time-frame and an associated budget and source of funding (government, private sector, or other source). It is expected that progress toward completion of the various Projects will be reviewed on a regular basis and, beginning in 2023, the NSAAH and its Implementation Plan will be revised and renewed on a 5-year basis. At these intervals, and as national aquaculture development and aquatic biosecurity progresses through completion of Projects, new Programmes and Projects will be added. As an evolving and living document, the NSAAH will contain the national action plans for short-, medium- and long-term phased implementation based on national priorities.The 15 Programmes included in this NSAAH for 2021–2024 are: Programme 1: Policy, Legislation and Enforcement; Programme 2: Risk Analysis; Programme 3: National Aquatic Pathogen List; Programme 4: Border Inspection and Quarantine; Programme 5: Diagnostics; Programme 6: Farm-level Biosecurity and Health Management; Programme 7: Veterinary Drugs and Avoidance of Antimicrobial Resistance; Programme 8: Surveillance, Monitoring and Reporting; Programme 9: Communication and Information System; Programme 10: Emergency Preparedness and Contingency Planning; Programme 11: Research and Development; Programme 12: Institutional Structure (including Infrastructure); Programme 13: Human Resources and Institutional Capacity Development; Programme 14: Regional and International Cooperation; and Programme 15: Ecosystem Health.

This document details the activities that were undertaken by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and cooperating agencies (the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of South Africa (DAFF), the Africa Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC)) leading to the production of a Regional Aquatic Biosecurity Strategy for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and its subsequent adoption by SADC and incorporation into SADC programmes. These activities include: (1) assessment of national aquatic animal health performance and capacity for 14 of the 15 SADC member countries through the conducting of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) regional aquatic animal health capacity and performance survey; (2) the convening of the FAO/DAFF/AU-IBAR/SADC Regional Workshop on Improving Aquatic Animal Health Management and Strengthening Biosecurity Governance in Africa, held in Durban, South Africa, from 5–7 November 2014, with one of the specific objectives being to develop a SADC Regional Framework for an Aquatic Biosecurity Strategy; (3) the finalization of the draft Regional Aquatic Biosecurity Strategy for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by the FAO team; (4) the submission of the strategy to the SADC Fisheries Technical Committee (April 2015) and its submission to SADC for official approval by the SADC Council of Ministers (April 2017). Included as annexes to the report are: Annex I. the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional aquatic animal health capacity and performance survey: Summary of survey results and analysis; Annex II. The Report of the FAO/DAFF/AU-IBAR/SADC Regional Workshop on Improving Aquatic Animal Health Management and Strengthening Biosecurity Governance in Africa; and Annex III. the Regional aquatic biosecurity strategy for the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The process was long but the most important is that it was done using a systematic approach that lead to good understanding leading to better consensus building, wide ownership and strong government commitment.