Aquavetplan enterprise Manual Version 0, 2015

Abbreviations

4WD four-wheel drive

AFMA Australian Fisheries Management Authority

AqCCEAD Aquatic Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases

CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

CVO chief veterinary officer

DF director of fisheries

DMA disease management area

DPIPWE Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment

EDTA ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

HOGG head on, gilled and gutted

NSW DPI New South Wales Department of Primary Industries

OIE World Organisation for Animal Health

ppt parts per thousand

PVC polyvinyl chloride

QAP Quarantine Approved Premises

RAS recirculating aquaculture system

SBT southern bluefin tuna

UV ultraviolet

Glossary

Anoxic Lacking oxygen

Benthic Bottom dwelling

Biota The living organisms present in a specific region or area.

Commensals Organisms living in close association but not harming each other.

Demersal species Organisms that live on or near the sea bottom.

Fomite Any inanimate object via which pathogenic organisms may be transferred.

Hiab winch Integrated hydraulic winch and crane unit for lifting.

Movement control Restrictions placed on the movement of fish, people and fomites to prevent the spread of disease.

Motile Moving, mobile

Pelagic species Organisms that occur in the upper layers of the water column.

Pre-smolts Young salmon that have not fully smoltified.

Ranching A system in which intervention in the natural system is used to improve harvests—for example, stocking artificially produced or raised stock into open systems for grow-out to harvestable size, attracting fish to artificial structures, or feeding to aggregate fish for ease of harvesting.

Rotifers Small, multicellular invertebrates of the phylum Rotifera, commonly used as first-feeding organisms in the culture of marine fishes.

Sessile Not moving, immobile

Vector Any organism that transmits a pathogen.

Contents

AQUAVETPLAN
Enterprise Manual i

Version 2.0, 2015 i

Contents x

Section A—Overview

A1 Definitions Error: Reference source not found

A1.1 General terms Error: Reference source not found

A1.2 Terms used to define an emergency operation Error: Reference source not found

A1.3 Zoning and compartmentalisation Error: Reference source not found

A1.4 Key operational terms Error: Reference source not found

A2 Management of aquatic animal disease emergencies Error: Reference source not found

A2.1 Reporting Error: Reference source not found

A2.2 Coordination of the incident Error: Reference source not found

A2.3 Lines of communication during the incident Error: Reference source not found

A2.4 A team approach Error: Reference source not found

A2.5 Information management Error: Reference source not found

A2.6 Disease management in aquatic environments Error: Reference source not found

A1 Definitions

A1.1 General terms

Fish—in this manual, ‘fish’ refers to all fish, crustaceans or molluscs produced in a system. It does not include amphibians, mammals or reptiles.

Disease outbreak emergency—version 1 of the Enterprise Manual states that a disease outbreak emergency is indicated when:

A population of aquatic animals is recognised as having undergone severe mortality events or significantly decreased productivity and the responsible authority within that State or Territory is of the opinion that the cause may be an infectious agent. The responsible authority may also consider latent events, such as the presence of an infectious agent but not the disease, as emergencies.

Under this deliberately broad definition, the term ‘disease’ usually refers to an infectious disease—in particular, an exotic infectious disease. However, in practice, this is not necessarily the case: significant emergencies have been associated with new or emerging diseases, and with toxins or environmental factors.

The term ‘emergency’ may have a specific meaning within certain legislation, which may have ramifications for issues such as funding. As this is an operational manual, such a legal meaning is not implied.

Actions by the state’s or territory’s responsible authorities and the managers of the enterprise are initiated in the alert phase of the emergency. The alert phase is invoked when an aquatic animal disease incident is recognised and reported. The incident is investigated, and interim management strategies are developed until the emergency disease is confirmed. These strategies, and any means of control, will depend on the extent of the likely threat to the ecosystem or industry.

A1.2 Terms used to define an emergency operation

The nature of the aquatic environment and aquatic animal diseases means that ‘disease management areas’ (DMAs) relevant to disease control operations may be difficult to define. Areas may need to be revised as further information is received on the nature of the disease agent and the extent of its spread. The AQUAVETPLAN Control Centres Management Manual (www.agriculture.gov.au/animal-plant-health/aquatic/aquavetplan/control-centres) expands on these definitions and how they are interpreted in setting up a response to a disease outbreak.

Outside area—an area known to be free from the disease agent.

Declared area—an area that has been subjected to a legal declaration. There are two types of declared area: restricted area and control area.

Restricted area—the area around an infected premises (or area) that is likely to be subject to intense surveillance and movement controls. It is likely to be relatively small. It may include some dangerous contact premises (or areas) and suspect premises (or areas), as well as enterprises that are not infected or under suspicion. Movement of potential disease vectors out of the area will, in general, be prohibited. Movement into the restricted area will only be by permit. Multiple restricted areas may exist within one control area.

Control area—a buffer between the restricted area and areas free from disease. Restrictions on this area will reduce the likelihood of the disease agent spreading further afield. As the extent of the outbreak is confirmed, the control area may change in size. The shape of the area may be modified according to circumstances (e.g. water flows, catchment limits). In most cases, permits will be required to move animals and specified product out of the control area into the free area.

Premises or areas—production sites, which may range from an aquarium to an aquaculture lease in the open ocean. The following definitions can apply to premises or areas:

• 
  An infected premises or area is the area in which the disease has been confirmed. The term ‘infected area’ (rather than ‘infected premises’) is more likely to apply to an open system such as an oceanic lease.
  
• 
  A suspect premises or area is where the disease is suspected but not yet confirmed. The reason for the suspicion varies with the agent; it may involve observation of clinical signs or increased mortality.
  
• 
  A dangerous contact premises or area has had a direct, and possibly infectious, contact with an infected premises or area. The type of contact will depend on the enterprise and disease agent involved—for example, it may involve fish movements between net lease areas, or movements of nets and equipment.
  

A1.3 Zoning and compartmentalisation

Zoning

For purposes of facilitating trade (e.g. after a disease has established in a particular area) zoning is the process of defining disease-free and infected zones. For purposes of disease management, zoning can be defined as the process of defining disease-free and infected zones to allow effective management of disease by reducing the risk of spread of disease by human activity. The concept of zoning is based on the fact that diseases do not recognise national (or state) boundaries; they are more likely to be restricted by hydraulic geography. The AQUAPLAN Zoning policy guidelines (www.agriculture.gov.au/animal-plant-health/aquatic/guidelines-and-resources) have been developed based on the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines.( www.oie.int/en/international-standard-setting/aquatic-code/access-online). They highlight the issues that need to be considered when developing zoning policies.

In essence, zoning could allow Australia to designate areas as disease-free, which would enable trade to continue from these regions during a disease outbreak. For example, if a disease is detected near Perth, Australia could use the concept of zoning to mount a case that trading partners could continue to trade with farms located on the opposite side of the country, such as in Townsville.

Zoning is not an easy or quick system to set up. If Australia elected to employ zoning as a trading tool, the OIE Aquatic animal health code requires that freedom is proven (through rigorous testing) rather than inferred. The requirements for testing for freedom and for recognising zones vary according to the biology of the disease agent. Currently, Australia does not have any zones established to report to the OIE.

A more complete explanation of the principles and requirements of zoning can be found in the AQUAPLAN Zoning policy guidelines, Subasinghe et al. (2004) and the OIE Aquatic animal health code, Chapter 4.1.

Compartmentalisation—a compartment is one or more aquaculture establishments operating under a common biosecurity management system. The compartment contains an aquatic animal population with a distinct health status with respect to a specific disease (or diseases), for which required surveillance and control measures are applied, and basic biosecurity conditions are met, for the purpose of trade. Such compartments must be clearly documented by the competent authority (i.e. the veterinary authority of the jurisdiction).

A compartment does not have to be contiguous facilities—it can apply to a series of farms over a large area, including over several jurisdictions. The key is that it must have in place a biosecurity management system that meets the guidelines in Chapters 4.1 and 4.2 of the OIE Aquatic animal health code, and that these systems have been documented by the competent authority.

A1.4 Key operational terms

Tracing—the process of locating animals, people or objects that may be implicated in the spread of disease.

Surveillance—a systematic examination and testing to determine the presence or absence of a disease agent.

A Local Disease Control Centre (LDCC)—an operational unit that manages the disease control operation within a declared area. The LDCC manages the operations (e.g. eradication and decontamination) in infected premises, and coordinates surveillance and disease investigations (e.g. sample collection) at a local level. There may be one or several LDCCs, depending on the size of the operation. The operational guidelines of an LDCC are set out in the AQUAVETPLAN Control Centres Management Manual (www.agriculture.gov.au/animal-plant-health/aquatic/aquavetplan/control-centres).