Specific considerations should be given to WOAH-notifiable diseases, including an emergency response procedure for dealing with the affected batches of animals.

Reporting to authorities.

Measures applied.

Notification to other sites in the vicinity.

Disease monitoring.

Veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional coordination.

Reporting to authorities and implementation of regulatory measures.

Notification to other sites in the vicinity or the ABM.

Increased monitoring to other batches of animals.

Veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional coordination

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.

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.

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.

Maintaining a readily accessible notification list.

The list should be kept up-to-date to ensure quick and efficient communication during emergencies.

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.

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.

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.

As a minimum, the review should occur annually.

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.

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.

Routine: Performed on a regular basis to monitor the health and welfare of the farmed animal.

Reactive: Performed in response to deterioration or concerns of the health or welfare status of the farmed animals.

Sites should be prepared to provide the veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional with detailed information about the observed symptoms, recent changes in behaviour, morphology, water quality or mortality and any relevant history of disease or treatments.

The site should use reactive health visits to address immediate health or welfare concerns, diagnose underlying causes of problems, and implement targeted interventions to mitigate risks and prevent further spread of disease.

Visit scheduling: Ensure key employees are available during the visit to provide relevant required information and to facilitate adequate follow-up.

Designate a senior employee to serve as the primary point of contact for the veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional during the visit.

This individual can help coordinate the activity, ensure relevant information is available, assist during the visit and ensure follow-up.

Species being cultured,

Production systems,

Stocking densities,

Recent health history, water quality monitoring results,

Morphology and mortalities data,

Feeding plan,

Any previous veterinary reports,

Details of any ongoing issue.

Having this information readily accessible will facilitate discussion and decision-making during the visit.

Prepare the UoC for the visit: Ensure the UoC is prepared for the visit and for providing full access to all relevant areas to the veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional.

Address any maintenance issues, clean structures as needed and ensure clear access to all relevant areas of the facility.

Ensure handling and other equipment that might be needed during the visit, such as nets, containers and sampling equipment, is available and in good working condition.

Make sure employees are aware of the visit and its objectives and encourage them to proactively participate in it.

During the visit: Ensure relevant information is discussed with the veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional and that the visit includes all relevant areas within the UoC.

After the visit: Follow up on any recommendations or actions discussed during the visit.

Implement any necessary revisions or changes to management practices, treatment protocols or facility conditions based on the veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional’s feedback and any sample or testing results.

Continuous improvement: Use the insights gained from the veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional visit to identify opportunities for continuous improvement in health and welfare management.

Veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional qualifications.

Veterinarian or aquatic animal health professional visit.

Recommendations or actions discussed during the visit.

The species.

The production system.

The scale of production.

The local regulations.

Infection with Perkinsus marinus.

Infection with Bonamia exitiosa.

Infection with Abalone herpesvirus.

Clinical examination of the animals.

Bacteriology.

Molecular biology (e.g.: PCR).

Histopathology.

Virology (e.g.: cell culture).

The diseases to include in the testing, based on local regulations, scientific literature and/or publicly available information (see interpretation for Indicator 4.3.6).

The sample size, based on local regulations and/or technical judgement.

Compulsory governmental testing programme results are acceptable for demonstrating conformance with this requirement.

The batch of animals being tested.

The date of the test.

The pathogen tested.

The results of the test.

Purchase.

Transportation.

Delivery.

Stocking.

For all relevant employees: a basic level of awareness of biosecurity, animal health and welfare is required.

For any person involved in husbandry, handling and harvest operations: a more advanced level of training on animal health and welfare, handling and harvest practices is required on an annual basis.

Certificates of attendance.

Certificates of competency.

Curriculum Vitae.

Records of qualifications.

Work experience.

Best practices on the implementation of the training content should be visible during the audit.

Employees should demonstrate adequate knowledge of that content at interviews.

Training.

Trainer’s competence.

Certificates of competency.

Training records.

Certificates of competency.

Trainer’s competence.

Revision of training resources/contents.

Interviews.

Observation of operations during handling and harvest of animals.

Anaesthetic usage amount and number of culled crustaceans.

This involves immersing crustaceans in a slurry of ice and water, causing rapid cooling.

To clarify, electrical stunning is a stunning method and not a killing method. Stunning methods are designed to render animals insensible to pain before they are killed, whereas killing methods result in the animal’s death. Stunning is a preliminary step followed by a killing method to ensure that the animal does not regain consciousness.