This publication is based on the discussions and recommendations arising from an expert consultation, jointly organised by the FAO, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and the Canadian Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans, held in Rome in October 2002. It contains technical information on the design of scientifically valid zonation frameworks for disease control and surveillance, aimed at providing advice to countries building national or regional aquatic animal health management infrastructures. It includes a case study of the Atlantic Canadian oyster disease surveillance programme, which was implemented to deal with a disease outbreak which occurred at the same time as the expert meeting was being held.

This document provides guidance to assist developing countries in improving national emergency preparedness in order to maximize the efficiency of response to serious outbreaks of aquatic animal diseases. This is a product of a joint FAO, Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia-Pacific (NACA) and WorldFish Center (WFC) Regional Workshop on Preparedness and Response to Aquatic Animal Health Emergencies, held in Jakarta, Indonesia, from 21 to 23 September 2004. The workshop, which was hosted by the Government of Indonesia, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (MMAF), was attended by national policy-makers and scientists from the Asian Region, and international experts and resource persons from both the region and elsewhere. The complete proceedings of the workshop will be published in the FAO Fisheries Proceedings series.

Published in Cooperation with THE WORLD AQUACULTURE SOCIETY Aquaculture loses millions of dollars in revenue annually due to aquatic animal diseases. Disease outbreaks continue to threaten profitable and viable aquaculture operations throughout the world. As a result, aquaculture biosecurity programs that address aquatic animal pathogens and diseases have become an important focus for the aquaculture industry. Aquaculture Biosecurity: Prevention, Control, and Eradication of Aquatic Animal Disease provides valuable information that will increase success in combating infectious aquatic disease. Key representatives of international, regional, and national organizations presented their views on this important issue as part of a special session at the 2004 World Aquaculture Society Annual Conference. The chapters of this book cover a wealth of experience from the varied perspectives of these experts on biosecurity, policies, and measures to take the offensive against the spread of diseases in aquatic animals. With contributions from renowned international experts, covering approaches to biosecurity policies and measures currently practiced, Aquaculture Biosecurity: Prevention, Control, and Eradication of Aquatic Animal Disease is a vital reference for all those concerned about protecting aquaculture from impacts of aquatic animal disease.

This publication provides background material and detailed technical procedures to assist countries and territories in Asia in implementing the Asia regional technical guidelines on health management for the responsible movement of live aquatic animals. The technical guidelines and their associated implementation plan, the Beijing consensus and implementation strategy (BCIS) (See FAO Fisheries Technical Paper no. 402), provide expert guidance for national and regional efforts to reduce the risks of disease due to transboundary movement of live aquatic animals.

Published in Cooperation with THE UNITED STATES AQUACULTURE SOCIETY The rapid growth of aquaculture worldwide and domestically has caused concerns over social and environmental impacts. Environmental advocacy groups and government regulatory agencies have called for better management to address potentially negative impacts and assure sustainable aquaculture development. Best Management Practices (BMPs) combine sound science, common sense, economics, and site-specific management to mitigate or prevent adverse environmental impacts. Environmental Best Management Practices for Aquaculture will provide technical guidance to improve the environmental performance of aquaculture. This book will be the only comprehensive guide to BMPs for mitigation of environmental impacts of aquaculture in the United States. The book addresses development and implementation of BMPs, BMPs for specific aquaculture production systems, and the economics of implementing best management practices. Written by internationally recognized experts in environmental management and aquaculture from academia, government, and non-governmental organizations, this book will be a valuable reference for innovative producers, policy makers, regulators, research scientists, and students.

Defining importance of diseases; FAO/EMPRES: a new emphasis; Early detection; The need for surveillance; What is surveillance?; Surveillance on the ground; Putting a surveilance system in place; Surveillance for what?; Surveillance when and how?; Surveillance in resource-poor countries; Information systems; Setting the goals; Determining needs and outputs; Computerisation; Questionnaire design; Databases; Data quality control; Feedback; The role of GIS; Motivating and training field staff; Awareness creation among decision-makers; Using surveillance as a management tool; FAO involvement in surveillance and information systems development; Examples of questionnaires.

The ecosystem approach to aquaculture provides the conceptual guideline for spatial planning and management. This publication describes the major steps related to these activities. The rationale for and objectives of each step, the ways (methodologies) to implement it, and the means (tools) that are available to enable a methodology are described in a stepwise fashion. Recommendations to practitioners and policy-makers are provided. A separate policy brief accompanies this paper. The benefits from spatial planning and management are numerous and include higher productivity and returns for investors, and more effective mitigation of environmental, economic and social risks, the details of which are provided in this paper.

A comprehensive introduction to the role of epidemiology in veterinary medicine This fully revised and expanded edition of Veterinary Epidemiology introduces readers to the field of veterinary epidemiology. The new edition also adds new chapters on the design of observational studies, validity in epidemiological studies, systematic reviews, and statistical modelling, to deliver more advanced material. This updated edition begins by offering an historical perspective on the development of veterinary medicine. It then addresses the full scope of epidemiology, with chapters covering causality, disease occurrence, determinants, disease patterns, disease ecology, and much more. Veterinary Epidemiology, Fourth Edition: ● Features updates of all chapters to provide a current resource on the subject of veterinary epidemiology ● Presents new chapters essential to the continued advancement of the field ● Includes examples from companion animal, livestock, and avian medicine, as well as aquatic animal diseases ● Focuses on the principles and concepts of epidemiology, surveillance, and diagnostic-test validation and performance ● Includes access to a companion website providing multiple choice questions Veterinary Epidemiology is an invaluable reference for veterinary general practitioners, government veterinarians, agricultural economists, and members of other disciplines interested in animal disease. It is also essential reading for epidemiology students at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Aquaculture Health Management: Design and Operation Approaches is an essential reference for the diverse aquaculture community. With the steadily increasing importance of healthy fish production and the expansion of the animal aquaculture industry to new geographic areas, new microbial and parasitic species with pathogenic potential continue to emerge. The book covers the broad spectrum of fish and shellfish health, the functional roles of pathogen emergence, and the impacts of nutrition and preventative medicine such as pre- and probiotics, as well as chemical treatments, relevant legislation and more. This reference takes a comprehensive approach to understanding overall fish health management, making it valuable to aquaculturists, practitioners in aquatic animal health, veterinarians and all those in industry, government or academia who are interested in aquaculture and fisheries and their sustainable futures. - Presents the biosecurity measures used to prevent the spread of disease - Discusses fish immunology to help readers understand preventive medicine for a healthy fish production - Examines the latest scientific methods and technologies to maximize efficiencies for healthy fish production for farming - Includes the most commonly researched fish, crustaceans and mollusks in aquaculture