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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The workshop on animal health and risk analysis in finfish aquaculture was held on 3–4 October 2018 in Larnaca, Cyprus. It was organized by the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) in cooperation with the Department of Fisheries and Marine Research of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and the Environment of Cyprus. It was was attended by 40 participants from 18 countries, as well as from the European Commission (DG MARE) and the GFCM Secretariat.

The workshop was organized within the framework of Target 2 of the Strategy for the sustainable development of Mediterranean and Black Sea aquaculture. The main objective was to respond to the needs of  CPCs to be updated on finfish pathology, early diagnosis of disease surveillance, disease analysis biosecurity measures and to take stock of applied standards for the prevention and control of contaminants along the aquaculture value chain.

Participants and experts strongly agreed that biosecurity issues are of regional importance and should therefore be addressed at the regional level. They stressed the importance of knowledge improvement on current epidemiological situation of finfish diseases and the need to set up a shared data collection system as well as to give the right priority to sanitary issues in Mediterranean and Black Sea aquaculture. In addition, the importance of spatial planning for farms and the need to strictly observe regulatory frameworks on aquatic animal movements to limit the spreading of diseases were highlighted. Finally, vaccine development and the set-up of shared and effective protocols based on biosecurity measures were recognized as key issues for the future of aquaculture.