Indicator 4.3.6

by Contact on 8 October 2026

Requirement

The UoC shall develop, implement and maintain a site-specific Health and Welfare Management Plan (HWMP), approved by a registered veterinarian, with the intent to prevent disease outbreaks and ensure good health and welfare of farmed animals. The HWMP shall include all of the following: a) disease monitoring; and b) response, including quarantine, treatment, and humane culling; and c) reporting mechanisms, including reporting WOAH-notifiable disease to authorities; and d) biosecurity risks; and e) predation risks. The HWMP shall be reviewed and revised at least annually

How Do I Interpret This Requirement?

The Health and Welfare Management Plan (HWMP):
- Aims to support the development and implementation of preventive, rather than remedial, actions that ensure good animal health and welfare.
- Must be developed by the UoC in collaboration with a registered veterinarian who approves it.
For developing and establishing a site-specific disease monitoring, response and reporting mechanism within the plan, the UoC should consider:
- Developing standardised health and welfare monitoring protocols.
- This may involve conducting visual inspections, monitoring OWIs and performing diagnostic tests for pathogens.
- Producing and maintaining detailed records.
- Including records of health observations, diagnostic test results, treatments administered, mortalities and other relevant data.
- It is recommended to use a centralised database or electronic system for efficient data management and retrieval.
- Implementing an early detection system.
- To detect signs of disease outbreaks or abnormal health conditions promptly.
- This could include environmental monitoring tools.
- Establishing response protocols for responding to disease outbreaks or health emergencies.
Outlining procedures for:
- Isolating affected individuals or populations.
- Implementing strategies, for example, for treatments or others (e.g. culling affected batches of animals)
- Notifying relevant stakeholders, including other sites in the vicinity and the authorities.
- Establishing communication channels.
  - Effective communication channels should be implemented for reporting health-related issues both internally within the facility and externally to relevant authorities (e.g. WOAH-notifiable diseases) or stakeholders.
  - Employees should understand their roles and responsibilities in reporting and responding to disease events.
- Maintaining a readily accessible notification list.
  - Including contact names, numbers and emails for key employees and other relevant stakeholders.
- The list should be kept up-to-date to ensure quick and efficient communication during emergencies.
For developing a site-specific biosecurity mechanism within the plan, the UoC should consider:
- Determining the objectives and scope of the biosecurity mechanism.
- Identifying relevant regulatory requirements.
- Gathering information about the site, including an up-to-date layout of production units identifying the possible movements of animals, animal products, animal waste, water and fomites/vectors.
- Identifying potential transmission pathways into, within and from the site.
- Carrying out a risk analysis to identify and evaluate disease threats and ensure that the plan addresses them.
- A risk analysis can be carried out either on their whole or only partially, e.g. disease transmission during transportation.
- This will depend on the objectives of the biosecurity mechanism.
- Identifying mitigation measures and assessing their effectiveness and their management requirements.
- Establishing emergency procedures in the event of a biosecurity failure.
- Defining internal and external communication procedures, roles and responsibilities.
- Creating a monitoring and internal audit schedule.
- Carrying out performance evaluations.
- Training employees in the different elements of the biosecurity mechanism.
- Creating the necessary SOPs to support the implementation of the mitigation measures and the biosecurity mechanism.
- Maintaining a record-keeping system, that provides evidence of compliance with the biosecurity mechanism.
For developing predator control measures within the plan, the UoC should consider:
- Identifying potential predators.
- Create a list of the predators that are present in the area and that might interact with the UoC.
- Predators may include birds, mammals, reptiles, and other aquatic species known to prey on bivalves and abalone.
- Assessing the risk of predation.
- Evaluate the risk posed by each predator species identified based on factors such as proximity to the site, population size, means of accessing the site, likelihood of predation, etc.
- Implementing predator control measures.
Develop and implement predator control measures tailored to the specific risks identified. This may include:
- Physical barriers such as nets, or screens to prevent access to animals.
- Scare tactics such as visual deterrents to discourage predators from approaching the facility.
- Implementing ongoing monitoring and surveillance.
- To detect predator activity and intervene as needed.
- Regular reviewing and revision.
  - Based on the outcome of the ongoing monitoring and surveillance.

> Adjustments to the measures should be made when the results of monitoring indicate the need to optimise protection for animals and the containment system.

Collaborating with local authorities or local wildlife agencies to address predator issues in the surrounding area.
A periodic review and, if necessary, a revision of the HWMP must be conducted in response to changes in farming activities or external factors or as directed by the veterinarian.
- As a minimum, the review should occur annually.
The UoC should develop feedback mechanisms to inform the review, e.g. proactively seeking feedback from employees on the operationalisation of the site-specific biosecurity mechanism.
For a single producer overseeing multiple UoCs in a shared waterbody, a unified HWMP that incorporates site-specific details is acceptable; however, for larger companies managing multiple UoCs in one country, while common plans may apply, it is crucial to ensure HWMP adaptation to individual site circumstances, particularly in aspects like biosecurity measures, disease surveillance programmes and monitoring systems.

Evidence of Implementation

The HWMP includes the considerations for:
- Site-specific disease monitoring, responses and reporting requirements.
- Specific considerations should be given to WOAH-notifiable diseases (see interpretation for Indicator 4.3.7).
- Site-specific biosecurity mechanism.
- Predators control measures.
- Veterinarian sign-off.
- Reviews and revisions.

Auditors Should Confirm

The HWMP includes the required five minimum considerations above and all relevant records associated with the HWMP implementation
Employees are:
- Familiarised with the HWMP and the feedback mechanisms for its review by conducting employee interviews and observations.
- Trained on the site-specific biosecurity mechanism by reviewing employees’ training records, conducting employees’ interviews and observations.

Useful Resources

Alevra, A., Llorente Manzanares, M., Mente, E., Xandri Royo, P.M. (2024) Good husbandry practices for aquaculture. Publications Office of the European Union. Report 89pp.
World Organisation for Animal Health (2024) Aquatic Animal Health Code. Chapter 1.3. Diseases listed by WOAH.

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