This Code of Practice has been developed to standardise and improve the biosecurity measures currently in place in the Victorian abalone industry.  It was developed in consultation with industry as part of the FRDC Project “Development of management strategies for herpes‐like infection of abalone” Project No. 2006/243.  This Code of Practice is not a regulatory tool and as such does not stipulate minimum standards for compliance.  Rather, it aims to minimise the risk of outbreaks and spread of abalone viral ganglioneuritis through implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs) in the following industry sectors: 
• commercial harvesting operations,
• recreational divers and fishermen,
• aquaculture farms, and
• processors.

Abalone viral ganglioneuritis (formerly known as abalone herpes‐like virus or ganglioneuritis) first appeared in southern Victoria in late 2005.  It had never been recorded in Australia before.  The disease can have a devastating impact on both wild and farmed abalone populations and it is therefore important that appropriate control measures are in place to minimise the impact of an outbreak.

Once abalone viral ganglioneuritis was identified as the cause of the disease outbreak, it was declared a notifiable disease under the Diseases of Livestock Act, 1994.  Abalone aquaculture farms affected by the virus voluntarily stopped the movement of stock to other farms.  The farms were subsequently de‐stocked and the facilities decontaminated. 

Although the source of the virus is unknown, early investigations concluded that the most likely source was live wild abalone brought onto a Victorian abalone farm (Hardy‐Smith, 2006).  Once clinical signs of the disease are expressed significant mortalities occur.

When the virus appeared in the marine environment in May 2006, the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) took steps to restrict entry into marine areas known to be infected with the virus.  Initially, the area around Port Fairy in south‐west Victoria was declared a Control Area and fishing and diving activities were restricted.  The aim was to minimise the risk of human activity transferring the disease to unaffected abalone populations elsewhere in the State.   To protect vulnerable stocks, the Control Area was replaced by a Fisheries Notice enforced by the Fisheries Act 1995 which extended the restricted area.  The Fisheries Notice specifically prohibited:
• taking of abalone, other shellfish and sea urchins,
• use of commercial abalone fishing equipment, and
• collection of any substrate.

Since abalone viral ganglioneuritis is a newly identified disease very little is currently known about either the disease or its causative agent.  This obviously places limitations on our understanding of the virus and effective methods of eliminating it.  Initial studies conducted at the Aquatic Animal Health Laboratory (AAHL) in Geelong have shown that the virus is virulent and transmissible through the water column and direct contact with diseased abalone.

In September 2006, a panel of International and Australian experts on aquatic animal diseases were brought together by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI) and abalone industry groups in a separate process to this project.  These experts considered the existing evidence and identified the following key knowledge gaps on the virus.

This Code of Practice has been developed to identify the key activities that should be undertaken by commercial harvesters, recreational divers and fishermen, aquaculture farms and processors to improve the biosecurity of their current operational procedures with respect to abalone viral ganglioneuritis.  It recognises the key knowledge gaps described above.  SOPs have been developed for each of the sectors using the outcomes of a risk assessment workshop that identified and prioritised key issues (see Gavine, et al. 2008).  The control measures developed to address the identified issues form the basis of the SOPs.