Fish Health Management Plan
Fish health management is regulated by both provincial and
federal legislation and policies. The accepted management standards
do not replace existing regulations or policies. Operators of fish
culture facilities must ensure that actions taken by them to
prevent, control or treat fish disease are in accordance with
existing regulations.
The BC Environmental Assessment Office’s 1997 Salmon
Aquaculture Review identified the need for "enforceable
standards for managing farmed salmon health… that should apply to
all intensive fish culture operations".
In 1999, the Province of British Columbia accepted this
recommendation, developed a new Salmon Aquaculture Policy and made a
commitment to address concerns through the staged implementation of
a new regulatory and management framework. Included in the policy is
the objective to improve fish health.
To assist in this objective, government requires all private
companies and public fish culture facilities to develop and maintain
an up-to-date Fish Health Management Plan (FHMP) specific to their
facility. For private companies, the FHMP will be enforced as a
Term & Condition of an aquaculture licence.
Fish health management standards are being developed and will be
regularly re-examined to adjust for changes in fish health
management practices and to incorporate new information.
Required Elements of a
Fish Health Management Plan
Required elements are the fish health aspects that operators
must include in their Fish Health Management Plan. The
document
describes what must be included but not how to do it. The
elements are not prescriptive management practices
but rather the fish health requirements that must be addressed.
Required Elements of a Fish Health
Management Plan for Public and Commercial Fish Culture
Facilities in British Columbia
(146 kb)
A template for
development of Facility-Specific Fish Health Management Plans is
now complete. These plans are to be used by operators to ensure
their operation meets all aspects of the Required Elements document.
All operators are required to complete template plans by
November 1, 2003. Evaluation and implementation of the
plans will occur over the following year.
View or download the document
anual of Health Practices
The Manual is a guide to be used by culturists in writing and
by regulators in assessing FHMP's. It describes an accepted
set of fish health management practices that will meet the
required elements. The manual is not all-inclusive as there are
other ways to meet the required elements. Regulators must
use professional judgment and expert advice to determine if the
specific methods proposed by culture facilities adequately address
the required elements.
View or download the
document
Updated: October 28, 2004 |
