Education, Training and Credentialing Opportunities for Aquatic Veterinarians

With the global growth of aquaculture, and hazards and risks posed by international translocation of diseased animals, there is an urgent need for a well-trained aquatic veterinary and para-veterinary workforce. Many national and international veterinary and other organizations have identified and defined core or "Day-1" veterinary and para-veterinary competencies necessary to meet the needs of other veterinary disciplines; however, none have developed a system to evaluate and credential individuals that have the appropriate skill sets necessary to practice aquatic veterinary medicine.

To meet these needs, the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association (WAVMA) developed a Certified Aquatic Veterinary (CertAqV) Program that is designed to recognize the knowledge, skills and experience (KSEs) in core subject-matter that is directly relevant to the practice of aquatic veterinary medicine. In many cases this program supplements and refines the KSEs obtained during the process of earning a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, or equivalent degree. The CertAqV program specifically requires documentation of KSEs in the following subject-matter areas:

1.      Anatomy and physiology unique to aquatic animals (primarily aquatic mammals, reptiles, amphibians, finfish, crustacean and molluscs).

2.      Environmental factors (water quality and other issues) that affect the health of aquatic animals.

3.      Industry structure and function, including commercial aquaculture (farmed seafood and ornamental fisheries), natural resource (wild) aquaculture, and ornamental (pet) and public aquaria.

4.      Pathobiology and epidemiology of important aquatic animal diseases.

5.      Veterinary clinical diagnostic techniques and technologies for assessing important aquatic animal diseases.

6.      The availability and appropriate use of therapeutic and biologic agents (drugs, vaccines and bacterins) for preventing, controlling and treating important aquatic animal diseases.

7.      Public health, zoonotic diseases and seafood safety aspects relevant to aquatic veterinary medicine.

8.      International, federal, state/provincial and local legislation, regulations and standards affecting the practice of aquatic veterinary medicine.

9.      Principles of welfare and humane treatment of aquatic animals.

The Program is designed to allow veterinarians to obtain KSEs from a variety of sources, including veterinary and non-veterinary academic programs, a variety of extra-curricular educational opportunities, including continuing education and professional development (CEPD) programs, and self-study. To be recognized as a Certified Aquatic Veterinary and utilize the CertAqV honorific, veterinarians are required to document KSEs in 9 subject-matter areas. As of December 2016, 52 veterinarians have been certified, and another 35 are in the process of completing their requirements.