Biosecurity and the ornamental fish trade: A stakeholder perspective in England

Abstract

The freshwater and marine ornamental fish industry is a primary route of hazard introduction and emergence, including aquatic animal diseases and non‐native species. Prevention measures are key to reducing the risk of hazard incursion and establishment, but there is currently little understanding of the biosecurity practices and hazard responses implemented at post‐border stages of the ornamental fish supply chain. This study addresses this knowledge gap, using questionnaires to collate information on actual biosecurity behaviours and hazard responses practised by ornamental fish retailers and hobbyist communities in England. Actual behaviours varied considerably within retailers and hobbyists, suggesting that reliance on preventative practices by individuals in the post‐border stages of the ornamental fish supply chain is likely to be ineffective in minimizing the risk of hazard incursion and establishment. Resources should be allocated towards improving and enforcing robust pre‐ and at‐border control measures, such as risk‐based surveillance of ornamental fish imports at border controls. In addition, these findings should be used to implement targeted awareness‐raising campaigns and help create directed training on biosecurity practices for individuals involved in the post‐border stages of the ornamental supply chain.

Changing climate may mitigate the invasiveness risk of non-native salmonids in the Danube and Adriatic basins of the Balkan Peninsula (south-eastern Europe)

“…This is especially true of large river systems, where an introduced species can be detected early so that any adverse impact can be contained (Radočaj et al 2021). Furthermore, accidental escapees from fish farms can be a source of pathogen transmission to wild stocks (Krkošek et al 2007;Rosenberg 2008) and this is another important threat still understudied (Wood et al 2021). Despite tight trade measures, established customs and quarantine methods and protocols related to transboundary aquatic diseases in the Member States of the EU, introductions of new pathogens into aquaculture are still occurring (Peters et al 2018;Pofuk 2021).…”

Threats to UK freshwaters under climate change: Commonly traded aquatic ornamental species and their potential pathogens and parasites

“…Ornamental species are typically kept in closed systems, isolated from open waterways; but deliberate introduction into the wild, often the result of animals overbreeding or getting too large to house, or accidental introduction following escape, is known to occur (e.g. Courtenay 1999; Crossman and Cudmore 1999; Padilla and Williams 2004;Copp et al 2005b;Duggan et al 2006;Wood et al 2022). Introductions of NNS can drive disease emergence by extending the geographic range of associated parasites and pathogens, and by facilitating host-switching or via spillover and spill-back (Peeler et al 2011).…”