In recent years several mollusc diseases (e.g. Perkinsosis, Bonamiasis, AVG, OOD, ostreid herpes viral disease) have impacted, and continue to impact, Australian fisheries and aquaculture. Similar diseases also affect mollusc aquaculture overseas, e.g. Bonamiasis of oysters in Europe, ostreid herpes virus in Europe and New Zealand. The outcomes of past and present efforts to manage diseases in farmed molluscs have been poor, and few controls have been devised for disease outbreaks in wild populations. Thus these diseases have continued to spread partly due to poor international coordination of response to emerging diseases, lack of sensitive and standardised diagnostic tests, no understanding of whether these diseases arose separately in different countries or whether they have spread internationally, poor understanding of mollusc immunity, poor understanding of pathogen biology in the context of host and environmental change, little information about how the infectious agents are spread within populations, lack of coordinated research on improved measures to avoid disease, inability to predict where and when future threats will arise. These factors suggest a need for an internationally based and coordinated multidisciplinary research approach to ensure the sustainability of mollusc aquaculture and wild mollusc populations. This need was recognised internationally and led to the KBBE Forum workshop on "Disease mitigation and prevention in mollusc aquaculture". One recommendation from the workshop was to hold a future KBBE workshop to address issues concerning mollusc disease diagnostics and would align with several key research areas within the FRDC R&D Plan and be of interest to industry and regulators.

There are very few experienced aquatic health veterinarians Australia-wide. Of these, there are a very small number practicing in private practice. As the aquaculture industry grows, there is a need for more highly skilled aquatic veterinarians in the country to ensure the industry continues to be successful and expand. Experienced veterinarians are required in the field of disease investigation and treatment, diagnostics, development of farm-based parasite management programs, development of biosecurity and health accreditation programs, reproduction, nutrition and welfare.

I graduated from the University of Sydney in 2011 and have worked in aquatic animal health as a field veterinarian since. My interests lie in production medicine in epidemiology, and I enjoy supporting the development of the food industry.

Diseases of Warmwater Fish (University of Florida) is a course that brings together a collection of aquatic animal health professionals. The organisers of the course are some of the most respected international aquatic health experts currently working or researching in the field. The course is designed as an intensive two-week class that provides instructions in the methodology of diagnosis and treatment of fish disease. By attending this course, I will be able to bring back useful skills to assist in disease investigation, a network of international experts, and a more detailed knowledge of fish disease- directly benefiting industry.

Training is needed, for fish farmers, technicians & veterinarians in all Australian States, for increased vigilance with respect to early disease detection, diagnosis, control and eradication of newly emerging endemic and exotic fish diseases. Northern States of Australia (NT, Qld) are at greatest risk for disease incursions, via the vast expanse of the States & Territories, remoteness of farms, illegal trade of fish, fish products, shipping movements (over 13 ports in Qld), people movement and the proximity of northern Australia to Indonesia, PNG and Asia. Early fish disease detection and eradication is necessary to protect the Biosecurity of the Australian Fish Farming industry, and prevent disease spread within and between States.

The continued annual growth of the barramundi & freshwater fish industries in all Australian States precipitates the need for farmer training for disease detection at the grass-roots level for farm workers to detect, control and treat fish disease, and thereby reducing disease risk to aquaculture enterprises and fisheries resources.

A specific training workshop is needed to train fish farmers, technicians, fisheries officers, vets, with hands-on, practical, technical skills & knowledge by Aquatic Animal health Professionals, so skills can be practically applied on farms during disease epizootics, investigations, and disease emergencies. This is needed to support continued growth, productivity, & sustainability of the Australian Fish farming Industry, disease being a limiting factor. This Workshop is needed to support on-going disease reporting activities by all States to DAFF, OIE and NACA, allowing continuation of Australian trade in fish and disease-free status.

Disease surveillance is an essential component of any aquaculture industry. Surveillance is required for early detection of new or introduced diseases, to demonstrate freedom from certain pathogens to support trade or to monitor and respond to changes in disease prevalence in a population.

However, surveillance is a specialised science and design of surveillance programs depends on the specific purpose of the surveillance and what it is expected to achieve. Inappropriate surveillance design risks either wasted resources (doing more than is necessary) or failure to achieve objectives due to poor design, inappropriate methods or inadequate sample size.

Effective surveillance is also a critical element to support trade, particularly where disease status can be used as a non-tariff barrier to trade. Understanding the principles of surveillance program design and implementation will ensure that government agencies are equipped with high quality information to support claims to freedom from diseases of trade importance, where this is appropriate or necessary.

Aquatic animal health advisors have a broad responsibility, including implementation of surveillance programs. This course will address that need by providing guidance on the design and implementation of surveillance programs for a variety of purposes and at both farm and industry level in aquatic animal industries. This will enable stakeholders and investors to have confidence that surveillance is meeting the desired objectives and supporting the industry in producing a safe and sustainable and disease free product for domestic and international markets.

The Molecular Biology group at the Animal Health Laboratory of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water & Environment, provides diagnostic and disease investigation services for aquaculture industries in Tasmania. The increasing reliance on molecular techniques for the detection and identification of disease agents in aquatic animal health is undeniable. Due to the ever increasing number and more efficient molecular techniques becoming available and the dynamic nature of newly emerging pathogens, specialist training is increasingly important for the delivery of effective and useful services to aquaculture. Presently, species identification relies heavily on biochemical tests and cellular fatty acid analysis, or 16S rDNA gene sequencing, all of which at times can be non-definitive. Multi-locus sequence analysis uses several housekeeping genes to assign a species designations, and is a technique that is easy to use, accurate, and has great discriminatory power (McTaggart et al., 2010). The multi locus sequencing skills acquired would enable us to more specifically and accurately perform species identification and determine genetic diversity among different isolates and build up a gene bank of sequences in the future.