Abstract

During the normal course of fish farming and fisheries activities in Britain, fish are often reared in one area then transported 'live' and introduced to waters in another area of the country. When the fish are transferred, crayfish plague could be transported as well and although there is no legislation controlling the spread of crayfish plague, Aphanomyces astaci, there is a desire to minimise its spread by conservationists and government agencies. This paper identifies the risk of spread of crayfish plague at each stage in its life cycle by a variety of factors, including: vectors; the guts of fish; the slime of fish; moribund crayfish of any species; or spores (or cysts) transported in the water. Methods to overcome each risk are proposed in a Code of Good Practice. It is anticipated that government agencies will recommend the Code of Good Practice when authorisations for fish movements are requested.

Supplemental Documents

• There are no supplementary documents for this article

Cited By

Citations: