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The Report of the Aquaculture Health Joint Working Group on Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis in Scotland

Document format: pdf

Publisher: Fisheries Research Services (Scotland)

Creation date: 2003

Infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN) has become of increasing economic importance to the Atlantic salmon farming sector in the North Atlantic and beyond. Although particularly significant in the marine environment, where it has become a serious cause of acute mortality in Atlantic salmon smolts shortly after introduction to sea water, IPN can also cause very considerable mortality in fresh water, particularly in the vulnerable fry stages.

Whilst adult marine finfish appear resistant to the disease, an increasing number of marine finfish species are known to be capable of carrying infection, and in some cases can suffer mortality due to IPN during juvenile development.

In the light of the increasing impact of IPN in Scottish aquaculture, the apparently ubiquitous nature of the IPN virus in the marine environment and the virus' resistance to physical and chemical inactivation, the Aquaculture Health Joint Working Group established an IPN Sub-Group to review the currently available scientific information on the disease in salmonids and other species, to determine its prevalence and virulence in Scotland and to provide recommendations on risk reduction measures and on the control regime for IPN. In Scotland IPN is currently notifiable in some species but not in all.

This report is submitted to the Deputy Minister of Environment and Rural Development of the Scottish Executive, Scottish Quality Salmon (SQS), the Shetland Salmon Farmers Association (SSFA), the British Marine Finfish Association (BMFA), the Orkney Fish Farmers Association (OFFA), the Western Isles Aquaculture Association (WIAA) and other members of the Scottish aquaculture industry. It represents a comprehensive review of IPN with particular reference to Scotland and should serve as a useful reference for regulators, aquaculturists and indeed anyone with an interest in fish health.

The risk reduction measures recommended in this report are consistent with those contained in A Code of Practice to Avoid and Minimise the Effect of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (Anon, 2000) and are commended to industry for adoption. Government is encouraged to adopt a regulatory framework that promotes good husbandry practice whilst recognising that IPN virus is widespread, if not ubiquitous, in the marine environment.

Key Words: Scotland • UK • Salmon • Aquatic Animal Health • Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis