Biosecurity on Fish Farms - Oct 8
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Biosecurity in Fish Farming
Operations
Saturday,
Oct 18, 9 am to 4 pm
Franklin
County Technical School,
82 Industrial Boulevard, Turners Falls,
MA
A
team of aquaculture scientists will present a program
on fish health, fish diseases and how protect your
facility from fish pathogens. In the morning, we will
meet at Franklin County Technical School to learn the
latest information concerning fish diseases in the
Northeast.
In
the afternoon, we will take part in a biosecurity
assessment of Four Star Farms, in Northfield MA (15
minutes from Turners Falls). Four Star Farms grows
largemouth bass in ponds, RAS and in season-shifting
tanks to allow for year-round spawning. They are also
developing a trout culture
system.
REGISTRATION
–
All individuals interested in finfish production are
encouraged to attend.
There is no charge for the meeting but pre-registration
is encouraged.
Participants who are pre-registered will receive a free
lunch.
To
register:
call Craig Hollingsworth at
(413) 545-1055, or
email
chollingsworth@umext.umass.edu.
8:30
–
9:00 Registration
& refreshments
9:00
– 9:15 Welcome
and overview of the workshop –
Michele
Walsh, Micro Technologies, Inc. Richmond
ME
9:15
– 9:45 Emerging
Diseases of Fish in the Northeast
(VHSV, Spring Viremia of Carp, Largemouth Bass
Virus & Koi Herpes Virus) –
Paul
Bowser, Cornell University
9:45
Break
10:00
– 10:30
New Technologies in Fish Disease Diagnostics
–
Jim
Casey, Cornell University
10:30
– 11:00 Implementing
Biosecruity at Australis –
Keith
Wilda, Australis Aquaculture
11:00
– 11:30 Biosecurity
& Best Management Practices -
Practical Ways of Mitigating Disease on the Farm
–
Michele Walsh, Micro Technologies,
Inc
12:00
– 2:45
LUNCH
12:45
– 1:00
Travel to Four Star Farm, Northfield
MA
1:15 – 1:45
Farm tour –
Reagan Ellis; Gene and Nathan
L’Etoile
2:00 – 4:00
Biosecurity audit & fish health inspection
(includes Q&A & discussion)
Michele
Walsh, Micro Technologies, Inc
Directions to Franklin County Technical
School
1. From the
West: Take
Rt. 2 East, Mohawk Trail, to Rt. 91 North. Take Exit
27, at Rt. 2 East.
*Follow
Rt. 2 East, taking a right at the second set of lights.
Go across the bridge; then take a left at the lights
onto 3rd Street.
**Follow
3rd Street to the top of the hill. Bear left at the
fork; follow signs for the airport. Travel 2 miles,
taking a left onto Industrial Boulevard. Follow
Industrial Boulevard for 1 mile; school is on your
right.
2.
Travelling From the
South: Take
Rt. 91 North to Exit 27, Route 2 East*. Follow
directions as indicated in #1.
3.
Travelling From the
North:
Take
Rt. 91 South to Exit 27, Route 2 East*. Follow
directions as indicated in #1.
4.
Travelling From the
East:
Follow
Route 2 West, travelling 3 miles past the French King
Bridge. At the set of lights at the Mobile Gas Station
in Gill, take a left into Turners Falls. Go across the
bridge; then follow the directions in #1 from left at
lights onto 3rd Street**.
USDA APHIS VHS Interim Rule Information
Last week, a number of fish health professionals as well as fish producers met in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to discuss the interim rule concerning viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) that will go into effect November 10. There is no doubt the interim rule will reshape the aquatic animal industry if it moves forward as written. You may have already seen the new USDA APHIS rule which modifies the Federal Order issued in October 2006. Like the Federal Order, the interim rule only applies to the interstate movement of fish from the 8 Great Lake states. However, I think this is a discussion we all would be wise to follow. There are three items in the attached interim rule that I would like to highlight for you:
1 The rule gives people 30 days to sample their fish and get their paperwork in order to move fish; however, the cell culture test takes 28 days to incubate. It is impossible to comply.
2 The fish need to be inspected by an accredited vet or competent authority within 72 hours of being shipped. APHIS doesn’t require this person to be a vet and the states need to be clear who they (the state) will recognize as an inspector. Unfortunately, there are no visual symptoms specific to VHS. Also, the cleaning of shipping containers must be monitored by an accredited vet or the competent authority.
3 Facilities that have a secure water source must test twice a year. However, the number of samples required decreases if the farm has a history of VHS free test results. For water sources that are not secure, test results are only valid for 30 days.
A factsheet is at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/publications/animal_health/content/printable_version/faq_vhs_interim_rule.pdf.
Thanks for your help on the NASAC Aquatic Animal State Contact list that makes it possible for me to get this email to you.
Bart Hawcroft
www.nasac.net
VHSv Order Economic Analysis and EA
VHS Q&A document
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/aquaculture/
We have also placed a Q&A document on the VHS Interim Rule under "In the News" on the APHIS web site:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/
There is a 60 day comment period on the rule; however the rule will go into effect on November 10, 2008 as currently written. We will take comments into consideration when we finalize the rule at a future date.
Thank you,
Gary
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P. Gary Egrie, VMD
Senior Staff Veterinary Medical Officer, Aquaculture Program
United States Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
4700 River Road, Unit 46
Riverdale, MD 20737
(301) 734-0695 (Office)
(301) 734-4982 (Fax)
(240) 460-5986 (Cell)
USDA-APHIS Interim Rule
Gary
Gary E. Whelan
Fish Production Manager
MI DNR Fisheries Division
P.O. Box 30446
Lansing, MI 48909
Phone (517) 373-6948
FAX (517) 373-0381
IL VHS Emergency Regulations
Gary
IL DNR VHS Emergency Regulations Press Release
IL Emergency VHS Rules 7 2008
Ontario (Canada) Carp Herpes outbreak
Grand River Conservation Authority is on the alert, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources said there is no threat to human health from the virus.
"As to whether the carp die-off could hit the waters around Guelph, the short answer is, we can't predict that," said ministry spokesperson Rick Winston, explaining carp die-offs occur due to a number of factors, including spawning conditions and rapidly changing water temperatures. There was a similar die-off last year in the Kawartha Lakes area from the columnaris virus, but the species has made a strong recovery.
"We are not aware, on our properties, of any carp die-offs or anything like that this year," said Dave Schultz, GRCA manager of communications. "Obviously our aquatics people are paying close attention to this. It's part of their normal business. But until something happens, you just carry on."
U of G researchers identified KHV last year, and the finding was confirmed by federal laboratories. The virus is an infectious disease affecting carp, koi and goldfish. It is believed it was introduced into the wild carp population through the hobby-fish trade, perhaps through the release of infected koi or goldfish into streams or lakes, or the disposal of sick or dead hobby fish by flushing them down toilets... ... ... ...
See the source (http://news.guelphmercury.com/article/359596) for full information.
USDA-APHIS VHSv Education/Outreach activities
First, I want to thank the Educational Alliance for its help and input on VHS outreach and education activities. We have received a number of excellent proposals and suggestions. At the outset, APHIS is going forward with two of them: A cooperative agreement with the Center for Food Security and Public Health at Iowa State to develop and host a VHS website, and with a grant to the Human Dimensions Research Unit at Cornell to provide insight on stakeholders in the Great Lakes Region.
The website which is expected to be complete by the end of December, will be an immediate resource for anyone interested in VHS, from the public to practitioners and academics. Amount: $55,000.
The research on insight into stakeholders in the Great Lakes region will identify the range of knowledge, awareness and concern about VHS among key stakeholder groups, identify sources of information used by them, learn about their willingness to respond to VHS and actual behavioral responses taken by them. This information will be vital to establish what is termed in advertising language as "foundational awareness." This information will eventually be used to inform the campaign's future messages and directions. Amount: $49,800.
With the remaining funds for this year, which will be allocated by September 30, we are planning to continue the advertising plan currently underway. Most of the advertising runs through July and August, and we will extend it for approximately six additional months. The advertising will take into account suggestions that have been provided. Once a media buyer has been awarded a contract and there is a new schedule, we will forward it to the alliance. Amount: $190,000
While Iowa State has provided a comprehensive proposal to develop print materials, educator and audio materials, prevention education mass media tools, youth program materials and promotional items, APHIS feels it is best to hold on to these items until we receive the results of Cornell's research which will give us a foundation upon which to direct the education and outreach campaign. APHIS intends to continue this effort in FY '09 and can build on ISU's ideas for collateral materials and we will evaluate the proposals and determine if some or all will need to be competitively bid.
Remaining FY '08 funds will be used to print additional wallet cards.
We are looking forward to working with all of you as we go forward with these activities.
Thank you,
Gary Egrie, Peter Merrill, Madelaine Fletcher, Heather Curlett
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
P. Gary Egrie, VMD
Senior Staff Veterinary Medical Officer, Aquaculture Program
United States Department of Agriculture
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
4700 River Road, Unit 46
Riverdale, MD 20737
(301) 734-0695 (Office)
(301) 734-4982 (Fax)
(240) 460-5986 (Cell)
VHS detected in IL
Illinois Announces Emergency Regulations to Stop Spread of Fish Virus
VHS detected in Illinois waters of Lake Michigan – No threat to human health
Regulations impact anglers, boaters, and aquaculture
SPRINGFIELD, IL – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) today announced emergency regulations aimed at slowing the spread of fish-killing Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) in Illinois after sampling of fish in the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan detected the presence of VHS in two species of fish sampled.
Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) is a disease of fish caused by an aquatic virus previously unidentified in the Midwest. While it does not affect humans, VHS can kill a substantial number of fish and has been spreading throughout the Great Lakes.
“The new regulations we are implementing are immediate and appropriate steps in trying to slow the spread of this dangerous aquatic virus in Illinois,” said IDNR Acting Director Sam Flood. “Sport fishing and boating are both very popular and important to the Illinois economy. The cooperation of anglers and boaters is essential in combating VHS.”
The new emergency regulations being implemented by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) regarding VHS that affect recreational anglers and boaters include:
• Eliminating natural water from all equipment when leaving a body of water.
• Emptying and draining all bait buckets, livewells, baitwells, bilges, etc. or any other compartment capable of holding natural waters when leaving a body of water.
• Do not remove live VHS-susceptible species (see below) from any waters. Anglers may catch and keep VHS-susceptible species, but may not transport those fish live from the waters where caught.
• Use of wild-trapped fishes from within the state as bait will be restricted to the waters where legally captured.
New emergency regulations are also being implemented immediately regarding fish stocking and the transport of fish in Illinois:
• All fish imported from affected areas (currently the eight Great Lakes states: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.) must be certified as free of VHS.
• All susceptible species for stocking public waters must be certified VHS free regardless of their point of origin (including both intra- and inter-state shipments). Wild-trapped minnows and other wild-trapped species must be certified VHS-free, or originate from west of the Mississippi River.
On June 5, the IDNR was notified by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources of positive VHS samples from a fish kill involving round gobies in the Milwaukee area – and on June 13 positive samples were discovered from yellow perch in the same location. As a result, IDNR fisheries biologists submitted samples of bluegill, rock bass, round gobies, and pumpkinseed from Winthrop Harbor (Lake Michigan) on June 10-11. Although the fishes sampled showed no clinical signs of disease and were not part of a fish kill, tests confirmed the presence of VHS in the round goby and rock bass samples on June 25.
Fish can be infected with VHS by direct contact with other infected fish, by a fish consuming its infected prey, or from contact with water which contains the virus. The highly contagious virus causes fish to bleed to death, and advanced symptoms include hemorrhages in the eyes, skin and gills. There is no vaccine for the virus and control methods rely entirely on surveillance and eradication efforts.
“With the discovery of VHS in the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan, we need to act immediately to try to protect our inland waters from VHS,” said IDNR Chief of Fisheries Steve Pallo. “The urgency is amplified by the fact that a significant amount of Lake Michigan water enters the Illinois River system through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. These emergency regulations and the cooperation of anglers, boaters, and the aquaculture industry are keys to slowing the spread of VHS into other waters in Illinois.”
In recent years, surveillance for aquatic diseases affecting fish has been increased throughout the state. The IDNR will continue its surveillance program, and fish produced at state hatcheries will be tested before they are stocked into Illinois waters. All fish eggs and imports of fish to state facilities will be disinfected and tested prior to import to ensure that VHS does not jeopardize operation of the state fish hatchery system.
While VHS is not known to be a threat to human health, anglers are still advised to wash their hands after handling fish and to cook thoroughly any fish they plan to eat. If handling dead fish or fish that appear to be diseased, protective gloves should be worn. For more information on VHS and the new Illinois regulations aimed at slowing the spread of the virus in Illinois, check the IDNR web site at http://dnr.state.il.us
Ontario Fish ID Booklet
Gary
Click here for the Ontario Fish ID Booklet: http://docs.savethebaitbusiness.com/OntarioBaitfishPrimer2008.PDF