FINFISH HEALTH PROTECTION REGULATIONS IN CANADA

The Fish Health Protection Regulations (FHPR) in Canada were implement ed under the Fisheries Act in 1977. These Regulations are based on the principle of controlling the movement of fish and eggs carrying infec tious diseases of concern. Source facilities require a history of insp ections to demonstrate the absence of named diseases and disease agent s. Since the FHPR were implemented no disease agents of concern are kn own to have been transferred with egg and fish shipments approved unde r these Regulations. Changes to the Regulations are needed, however fo r the following reasons: - to incorporate new knowledge on salmonid di seases and their distribution - to cover transfers of other finfish sp ecies which present a risk of introducing or spreading infectious dise ase agents to Canada or between provinces - to eliminate unnecessary c ontrols - to specify the new authorities needed to protect effectively the health of fisheries resources - to reflect emerging international standards. The author describes the authority, administration require ments and procedures for the current FHPR and the corresponding 'Manua l of Compliance', and the proposed amendments to the Regulations and M anual. Issues related to fish health protection in Canada are discusse d, including the following: - industry concerns with the FHPR the need for quality assurance/quality control guidelines for diagnostic labor atories - consistency with international trade standards - the need to consider genetic and ecological factors, as well as fish health, when assessing impacts of introductions and transfers.