32 DECEMBER 2012 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG According to the definition of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO 2007), biosecurity, as a general principle, is a set of preventive measures designed to reduce the risk of transmission of: • Infectious diseases and pests, • Living modified organisms and their products, and • Invasive alien species. A term for prevention of introduction of disease agents is bioexclusion. Applied to aquaculture production systems – as for other, land-based farm animals – the principal concerns are to: • Define risks of introducing infectious agents, • Identify the hazard points for introduction, • Draw up plans for control of the hazard points, • Carry plans into effect, and • Verify that plans are followed. In that way, biosecurity plans apply important principles from HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) and quality assurance systems (Walster et al. 2011). Biosecurity plans may be implemented to control one specific infection or to prevent the introduction of infectious agents in general, applying wide-ranging, hygienic principles. However, a biosecurity plan aiming at controlling one specific infection will also protect against the introduction of others, control measures being more or less general. Biosecurity plans may be applied to different community levels or geographical areas, such as continents, countries, regions, zones, compartments and, in aquaculture, to the farm or site level. On a global level, the OIE administers regulations and the Aquatic Animal Health Code is the legal basis for international regulation of aquatic animal biosecurity (OIE 2011). Within Europe, the EU directive of aquatic animal health addresses member states and non-member trade partners, so-called “third countries,” with biosecurity regulations and measures to control listed diseases (Council Directive 2006/88/EC 2006). On a national level, in Norway, the same biosecurity principles are settled in regulations harmonized with the EU directive and a number of specific diseases to be given particular attention are added on a national list. Biosecurity principles, according to systematic plans, may also be implemented by the aquaculture industry itself, in a country or defined region of a country, or in certain segments of the production chain, for instance, broodfish production. The “Stop PD” project in Norway, to control pancreas disease outside the endemic PD zone, is an example (Robertsen 2011). The project particularly focuses on movement of live fish material. Biosecurity in Atlantic Salmon Production In the following discussion, bioexclusion at the site level of different stages in the production of Atlantic salmon will be addressed with reference to production systems in Norway. Some of the biosecurity measures described may be compulsory (i.e., regulated by law) and must be followed by the entire industry. Other procedures are recommendations and implementation is the decision of each farm or company. A biosecurity plan demands that certain actions are made or requirements fulfilled. The accomplishment should be confirmed, using documents like: • Certificates, for instance for vaccination, • Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs), for instance, for disinfection, • Other protocols for work operations, registrations, and monitoring of technical equipment, and • Test results for specific pathogens. Such documents should be included in the biosecurity plan, which may be an integrated part of the quality assurance system of the farm. The plan should be subject to audits to confirm accomplishment. Audits should be carried out at different levels by farm internal experts, the fish health service, the authorities or by companies assigning specific quality certificates. Production stages for Atlantic salmon include: • Hatchery — smolt production • Sea-site cage, net pen production of market size fish • Brood fish station — egg production • Slaughterhouse / processing plants The production cycle for Atlantic salmon includes smolt production in land-based tanks, supplied with freshwater. Smolt production is usually based on delivery of fertilized eggs from a breeding station. After 6-12 months, smolts of 50 g or more are transferred to a sea-farm. The seawater phase ends after 18 months with market size fish of approximately 5 kg. Broodfish production goes through a similar cycle, but totally isolated from A Practical Approach to Biosecurity in Atlantic Salmon Production Atle Lillehaug*1, Nina Santi2 and Asgeir Østvik 3 Biosecurity plans may be implemented to control one specific infection or to prevent the introduction of infectious agents in general, applying wide-ranging, hygienic principles. However, a biosecurity plan aiming at controlling one specific infection will also protect against the introduction of others, control measures being more or less general. Biosecurity plans may be applied to different community levels or geographical areas, such as continents, countries, regions, zones, compartments and, in aquaculture, to the farm or site level.
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