New legislation made under the Import of Live Fish Act (ILFA)

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1 O R N A M E N T A L A Q U A T I C T R A D E A S S O C I A T I O N L T D The voice of the ornamental fish industry Wessex House, 40 Station Road, Westbury, Wiltshire, BA13 3JN, UK Telephone:+44(0) Fax:+44(0) info@ornamentalfish.org February 2014 New legislation made under the Import of Live Fish Act (ILFA) ILFA states the Minister may by order forbid either absolutely or except under a licence granted under this section, the import into, or the keeping or the release, in any part of England and Wales of live fish, or the live eggs of fish, of a species which is not native to England and Wales and which in the opinion of the Minister might compete with, displace, prey on or harm the habitat of any freshwater fish, shellfish or salmon in England and Wales. Thus a species need not be invasive (that is form a breeding population that gets out of control) to be controlled by ILFA. Orders under ILFA have been passed in 1998 that currently cover England and Wales 2 and another dated 2003 covers Scotland 3. A new Order 4 has been introduced that will cover England only. Wales will continue to be covered by the 1998 Order (though we believe they may be trying to introduce an Order to mirror that in England as soon as possible) and Scotland by their 2003 Order. Why does the government see the need for change? In the past controls on which species were imported and kept could be implemented using the Fish Health Directive (91/67) 5. This Directive in effect meant species which were unable to establish in the UK (tropical species) could be imported using simplified health certificates. On the other hand any species which it was thought might be able to survive in the wild in the UK were required to be imported with full health certification. This included two years of testing of the source prior to import. In 2006 the Aquatic Animal Health Directive (2006/88) 6 changed the basis upon which health certification for imported fish was required. Instead of being based on the temperature tolerance it depended on whether or not species were susceptible to or vectors (carriers) of specified diseases, so in our sector this

2 meant those species affected by Spring Viraemia of Carp (SVC) - Bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), goldfish (Carassius auratus), crucian carp (C. carassius), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus),common carp and koi carp (Cyprinus carpio), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), sheatfish (more commonly known in the UK as the Wels catfish - Silurus glanis) and tench (Tinca tinca). As you will be aware from numerous communications from OATA, species that could become invasive in the UK are a political hot potato. The change of Directive in 2006 in effect allowed species from North America and more central cooler areas of Asia to enter trade. Many importers refrained from adding these species to their availability lists - this has been recognised and applauded by DEFRA. DEFRA has been extremely tardy in introducing changes to ILFA to address the gaps in control caused when 91/67 was succeeded by 2006/88 - changes that could have been predicted probably as long ago as However it was always going to be a when not an if controls were reapplied to protect the UK against invasives. An explanatory note has been published alongside the new Order. 7 CEFAS has acted in an exemplary manner in consulting extensively with OATA throughout the process of developing an innovative use of white lists (see table below for explanation). Please read the table below which summarises the changes. If you import freshwater fish you will need to download and refer to various tables. 7

3 General issues Licensing Two sorts of licenses may be issued: A License may be issued with conditions regarding how and where species may be kept. Everyone wishing to keep such a licensed species is required to apply for that license. A General License which may be issued such that species may be kept but either no one or only specified groups have to apply for licenses. Types of listing Black lists These are lists of species in which trade and ownership is banned or restricted in some way. Normally a risk assessment would be required for a species to be added to such a list. However, if information is limited or absent species may be automatically listed using the precautionary approach - that is if in doubt list. White lists These are of species in which trade and ownership is permitted. Usually such lists are blank and species are only added after a species has been subject to a scientific risk assessment. These assessments are often based on the scientific literature and not necessarily practical experience of a given species in trade. In the new ILFA legislation the white list is immediately populated with 1000s of species based on practical experience of a particular species or others with the same biological and water temperature requirements.

4 Import of Live Fish Act up to 16 February Import of Live Fish Act from 17 February 2014 Listing Coldwater species A black list of species that could only be traded subject to licensing was created. Changing the list required a change in legislation. In association with 91/67 this provided controls on the import of all temperate species. After 2006 this control was lost. Species on the ILFA black list were subject to licensing. Grass carp, sturgeon/sterlet and ameiurid, red shiners and fathead minnows were included on the blacklist ie they required licences to own or keep in wholesalers or retailers. All freshwater fish are listed on a black list which prevents their keeping except under licence. A white list of many thousands of tropical freshwater species has been granted a general licence for use in the ornamental industry. Species may be added to the white list subject to a satisfactory risk assessment. Thus despite the black list mentioned above nothing is banned if someone wants to trade in it and can provide evidence that it cannot cause problems to UK aquatic species. Species may only be removed from the white list if suitable consultation and risk assessment process have been undertaken. Officials cannot change the list on a whim. The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs hereby grants a general licence to the above authorising the keeping of grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) and sturgeon (of the genera Acipenser and Huso), subject to the following conditions: That the fish are kept in: 8

5 A general licence applied to the general public keeping them in specified conditions thus: those wishing to keep grass carp, sturgeon/ sterlet and ameiurid/ictalurid catfish in garden ponds and indoor aquaria or red shiners and fathead minnows ( rosey reds ) in indoor aquaria (other than aquaria on retail or wholesale premises) are covered by a general licence and need not apply for individual licences. ornamental wholesale or retail premises; or indoor aquaria; or. garden ponds. For the purposes of this licence, garden ponds are defined as discrete, isolated bodies of water, not exceeding one acre in size, on private residential premises, established and used specifically for the ornamental display of fish. Such ponds must pose no risk of escape of fish into the wild, and must not be used for fishing or any commercial purposes related to fish rearing or dealing." Tropical No controls (except the requirement for valid health certification) to any species not on the "black list" - in Changes: Ameiurids (eg channel catfish) are not on the white list and so there is no license to trade. Red shiners and Rosy red minnows are included in the white list - so in effect no change for the public - traders will now be covered by a general licence rather than an individual licence. A white list based on the Standard names for freshwater fishes in the Ornamental Aquatic Industry booklet produced by Ornamental Fish International 9. However 9 Which can be obtained from OFI see:

6 practical effect a general licence applied where only a few species of a genus are in trade but all species in the genus are tropical the whole genus is listed. Also tropical genera in which there is not yet any trade have been listed. The following applies to the white listed species ie tropicals and some temperates (that have been in trade for decades without any evidence that they have caused any problem): the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs hereby grants a general licence to the above, authorising the keeping of the fish species listed in the Schedule to this licence, subject to the following conditions: the fish are kept in indoor aquaria only; the fish are kept for ornamental, scientific research or conservation purposes. Ornamental purposes include keeping for trade and keeping in zoos, public aquaria and similar premises. Changes: This license only applies to the species on the white list. No other species may be traded unless added to the white list. Marines Not included No practical difference