The current program of simulation exercises to be conducted under the auspices of the Federal Budget Initiative is designed to provide individual jurisdictions with training in the management of an aquatic animal disease emergency.
However, within Australia, both marine and freshwater environments cross State/Territory boundaries. The need for inter-jurisdictional co-operation in successful disease control and eradication has not previously been addressed. A current FRDC project, 2002/660 is providing training focussed on the operation of the Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Diseases, however, the aims and objectives of the current proposal are to develop cooperation at a technical and operational level rather than the strategic level addressed by project 2002/660.

This project is needed to allow the development of the exercise materials and ensure that the exercise is effectively and efficiently planned.

This project submission has been requested by the FRDC Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram.

During emergency disease incidents, rapid diagnosis of the pathogen involved is critical to mounting an effective response. Because each laboratory does not have a complete range of diagnostic capability, often a specialist laboratory needs to be identified to assist in the diagnosis. Currently, there is no database of laboratories or their diagnostic abilities. Identification of alternative laboratories is done on an ad hoc basis, and often when the information is required rapidly, the best alternative laboratory is not identified.
In recent times, there have been actual examples of diagnosis being delayed by samples being sent to an inappropriate laboratory. This project will result in a readily accessible database with an up-to-the-minute listing of laboratories, their diagnostic capabilities and capacities, the range of techniques that they have available to diagnose each pathogen and their level of accreditation.
In Australia, each aquatic animal health laboratory has limited resources and it is not cost-effective to have all laboratories develop the full range of diagnostic capability. However,it is not desirable to send samples to overseas laboratories especially in the case of suspect exotic disease. The solution to this resource dilemma is to create a network of diagnostic laboratories within Australia. The first step in achieving this network is to conduct a stocktake of current capability and capacity and subsequently making the information gathered available to all laboratories.

Domestic need

Within Australia, the regulatory frameworks for ecologically sustainable development (ESD) are at a critical point in their development. At the Commonwealth level, aquaculture will be directly affected by amendments to Schedule 4 of the Wildlife Protection (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1982 (WPA); by the introduction of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC); and in Queensland, by the introduction of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (Aquaculture) Regulations 1999. Environmental legislation regulating shrimp culture in Queensland is also currently under review.

The Standing Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (SCFA) has established a Working Group on ESD. The working group aims to develop ESD indicators for assessing fisheries and aquaculture in environmental, social and economic contexts. It is anticipated that the ESD assessment process developed through this work will form the basis for Environment Australia’s assessment of fisheries and aquaculture under WPA and EPBC. The first aquaculture case study was held on shrimp farming, 3-4 October 2000.

The Australian Prawn Farmers Association (APFA) convened a National Shrimp Farming Environmental Management Workshop 24-25 May 2000. One of the outcomes of the workshop was for Australian industry “…by 2010, to have technology and farming practices and strategies that achieve worlds best practice and nil tangible water quality impacts…APFA to establish a comprehensive strategy for ESD by fully supporting SCFA Case Study for developing ESD Indicators.”

Given these developments, the expert consultation is ideally placed to facilitate the development of appropriate ESD policy, legal frameworks and good management practices for shrimp culture in Australia. It is expected that the outcomes of the consultation will provide guidance and a common platform for the policy development currently being undertaken by SCFA, Environment Australia and the Australian Prawn Farmer’s Association. This will occur through the interaction of key Australian policy officers with international experts at the consultation, and through the guidelines arising from the workshop.

International need

In December 1997, FAO convened the Technical Consultation on Policies for Sustainable Shrimp Culture. This consultation brought together government delegates and observers from 12 countries of Asia and America accounting for about 90 % of the global production and major consuming countries.

The Consultation noted that the achievement of sustainable shrimp culture is dependent on effective government policy and regulatory actions, as well as the co-operation of industry in utilising sound technology in its planning, development and operations. In this regard, the Consultation recommended that: FAO convene expert meetings to elaborate best practices for shrimp culture and the legal and other regulatory instruments for coastal aquaculture.