There have been several media reports about the proposed import of record-sized carp from a source in France to a fishery in England over the last few weeks.
The government’s Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI), based at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas), can confirm that at present it is illegal to import carp from France, irrespective of what any French supplier or potential UK importer may claim.
A basic principle of disease control within the EU is that any claim for status for a particular disease is only possible if that disease is notifiable in the Member State concerned. Spring Viraemia of Carp (SVC), for instance, is not a notifiable disease in France nor in many other EU countries. Therefore the French competent authorities are unable to sign the appropriate health certification for carp exports.
The FHI has spoken to the fishery owner, who advertised his intention to import record-sized carp from France, to explain that the planned import is illegal. The FHI are seeking the owner’s help to identify the importer. The Inspectorate will contact the importer to ensure that they are aware that any import from France would be illegal.
Stuart Katon, FHI Enforcement and Investigations Officer said: “Fishery owners being offered fish from a supposedly disease-free source in France, or any other country, should contact us so that we can advise on the legality of the proposed import and take action against any illegal importers.”
Stuart Katon can be contacted on 01305 206811, or the FHI can be reached at 01305 206700. All enquiries and any information supplied will be dealt with in strict confidence.
Carp Import Rules
The legislation relating to the import of any carp is straightforward.
For fish to be properly health-certified by the competent authorities (CA) of an EU source country, any export source must have animal health status equivalent to, or higher than, that of Great Britain.
In order to gain status for any given disease the source country must:
- have an effective CA able to carry out disease controls, supported by suitable legislation
- make that disease notifiable. A notifiable disease is one where any suspicion of its presence must be reported to the CA. They must carry out suitable investigations to confirm its presence, place controls to prevent its spread, and take action to trace its source.
- have evidence that the source of fish is free of the disease, either on historic grounds or by means of specific surveillance for that disease.
Disease freedom can be recognised at country, zone or compartment level.
A zone comprises a water catchment or several adjacent water catchments with common health status and health controls.
A compartment is a farm or group of farms working to a common standard of disease control, which is isolated from the surrounding environment.
The above points are specific criteria that must be met in order to claim disease freedom at each of the three levels noted.
For imports of carp to Great Britain, the basic requirements are as follows:
- Fish must be from a source certified to be free of Spring Viraemia of Carp (SVC).
- They must be from a source that poses no risk of transferring any other notifiable disease, such as Gyrodactylus salaris, to Great Britain.
In practice, this usually means that the source would be a fully isolated farm, which has been subject to specific diagnostic testing for SVC for at least two years. Though one or two countries can certify their whole territory to meet these requirements.
While there are a number of potential sources able to meet these criteria, few hold the large carp that are so much in demand by certain fisheries.
It is likely that the number of legitimate sources for carp will reduce further, should the UK government choose to pursue “control and eradication” status for Koi herpesvirus (KHV) disease, following its recent consultation with industry.
Anyone wishing to import fish for farming or release to fishery waters must be authorised by the FHI. The Inspectorate ensures that all proposed imports come from farm sites able to meet the above criteria, before giving authorisation to import.
The FHI, based at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, can be contacted at fhi@cefas.co.uk or on 01305 206700.
