CEFAS
AND ILLEGAL IMPORTS OF LIVE
FISH
CEFAS
needs your help!
The question of
illegal imports of live freshwater fish seems to stimulate more interest,
more comment and more hypocrisy than just about any other facet of
angling. Everyone has something to say on the subject. Some
sensibly view it as an activity which is potentially dangerous and should
be stopped. Others feel that foreign fish should be allowed onto
secure enclosed licensed sites. A section of the fisheries and
angling fraternities feel that all movements of live fish should be
de-regulated and fisheries given free reign to introduce whatever they
like. After all, aren’t the smugglers only exercising their
entrepreneurial skills to satisfy an obvious demand, and aren’t the
fishery owners only catering for an existing and thriving angling
market? I’m sure we’ve all heard the comments:
‘They cope
well enough on the continent without worrying too much about regulating
fish movements don’t they?’
‘There’s
no such thing as a British carp.’
‘It’s
too late to do anything about it now.’
‘Why don’t
they just de-regulate the whole industry and let everyone get on with
it!’
An alternative
view might be that as so very little is known about the long-term
ecological and environmental impact of foreign fish, perhaps it would be
sensible for all interested parties to work together to stop them coming
in before irreversible damage is caused. We know that SVC (spring viraemia
of carp) and other exotic varieties of parasites have been found in
illegally imported fish, and it is reasonable to conclude that many of our
indigenous fish have died as a result of this trade. What else has
been brought in? What are the long-term implications? Nobody knows.
The agency
responsible for preventing illegal imports of live fish is CEFAS (Centre
for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science), but CEFAS needs the
help and support of the public in its attempts to stamp out this
illegal trade. Our indigenous fish stocks are a valuable and
essential part of our environment and of our heritage. It is
in the interests of everyone involved, from anglers, fishery owners and
traders, to the general public to help prevent illegal imports.
What is
CEFAS?
The Centre for
Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science is an agency of
the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs and is
responsible for the prevention of serious fish disease in England and
Wales. It’s head office is located at Lowestoft and it has other
laboratories in Burnham, Weymouth and Whitehaven. The Weymouth
laboratory is the European Union national reference laboratory for fish
diseases in England and Wales. It is home to the Fish Health
inspectorate, a team of fourteen fish health inspectors, including eight
field inspectors and four administrative staff. The inspectorate is
responsible for carrying out routine inspections of all fish farms in
England and Wales, and for licensing and monitoring all legal imports and
exports of live fish and shellfish from the EU and third
countries.
When are
live fish imports illegal?
All imports of
live fish into Great Britain must be accompanied by a movement
document/health certificate attesting that the fish are healthy and free
from disease. The documents must be issued and signed by the
veterinary authorities in the country of origin. Prior notice must
also be sent to CEFAS. Imports which fail to meet these criteria are
illegal.
Throughout the
European Union there are ‘approved’ farms and zones (EC directive 91/67)
These are EC-designated areas which have been tested for and shown to be
free of certain of the most serious fish diseases. Great Britain is
currently an approved zone for VHS and IHN. Live fish may be legally
transferred between areas of equivalent status or when the supplying zone
is of a higher health status, provided the above procedure is complied
with. Imports which fail to comply contravene the provisions of the
Fish Health Regulations 1997. There are also specific additional
regulations to further protect UK fish stocks against other serious
diseases, such as Spring Viraemia of Carp, which are prevalent on the
continent.
How real is
the threat of disease and environmental damage?
The dangers to
indigenous fish of introducing diseased foreign imports may be evidenced
by the increasing number of unexplained diseases and mortalities in our
waters. Tests on fish found in previous interceptions of illegal
consignments have established that they carried a variety of diseases
including SVC. Illegally imported fish pose a very real
problem which must be addressed if we are to reduce the risk of spreading
disease, and the possible demise of many of our waters. But it
is as much a question of what we don’t know about their long term
impact, as the obvious known risks.
The ecological
effect of naturalised fish on native aquatic communities was summarised by
Taylor et al (1984) as follows:
Habitat
alterations (e.g. through consumption or uprooting vegetation)
Introduction of
parasites, pathogens and diseases
Trophic
alteration (e.g. by competition for food or predation)
Genetic
degradation (e.g. through hybridisation)
Spatial
alterations
Environmental
effects
What are
the motives for illegally importing fish?
There are large
profits to be made by smugglers who steal fish, or purchase them cheaply
from non-approved sites on the continent and sell them to fisheries in the
UK. Similar profits can be made by fishery owners who
impose high charges on anglers who are prepared to pay to catch larger or
different species of fish than may otherwise be available.
What fish
are we talking about?
Although carp,
wels catfish, sturgeon and zander are the obvious species, recent
interceptions of illegal imports have included roach, bream and various
species of ornamental fish. France, Belgium and Holland have been
the traditional source countries for many large coarse fish in the
past. However, it is understood that fish have been
smuggled into the country recently from Eastern Europe where carp are not
only plentiful, but in less demand and therefore cheap.
Who’s doing
it?
It is believed
only a relatively small number of individuals or groups are involved on a
regular basis in organising and arranging illegal imports. However, it is unlikely that they involve themselves personally in the
physical act of smuggling because they are known to employ others to do it
for them. These friends or associates, are known to use hired vans
or borrowed vehicles, seldom using their own transport for obvious
reasons. It is likely that a significant number of the fishing
public know or suspect the identities of many of the individuals who are
regularly involved in organising illegal imports, and the names of those
waters which are prepared to introduce illegally imported foreign
fish.
Why aren’t
the smugglers caught more often?
The main reason
people are not caught more often is because it is a relatively simple
matter to smuggle fish in from the continent. The introduction of
the European free-trade legislation in 1993 made the practice
significantly easier and we have to accept that, at present live fish
imports are unfortunately not a high priority for either HM Customs or the
police.
Historically,
there has also been a failure on the part of the authorities to
acknowledge the potential for greater inter-agency co-operation and
coordination. This situation has since been largely
addressed.
In addition,
there are the conflicting attitudes of anglers who, whilst they would not
wilfully do anything to harm indigenous fish stocks or the environment,
effectively do so by demanding to fish for large carp of dubious origin
etc (without questioning their origin). The controversy
surrounding illegally imported fish is such that there appears to be no
consensus within the fisheries and angling fraternities over the question
of illegal imports. A united and determined approach by the industry
and the authorities would have a major impact on smuggling.
Furthermore,
CEFAS has limited resources and illegal imports are only one of its many
responsibilities. There is no doubt that these resources could be deployed
to better effect if more detailed information was available on the
activities of the smugglers.
What is
CEFAS doing about it?
CEFAS is
attempting to combine a more robust and imaginative approach to the
problem of illegal imports with a more measured long-term gathering of
information and evidence, aimed at targeting those people whose offending
represents the greatest threat to our indigenous fish and to the
environment. Fish smuggling, fish thefts and illegal fish movements are
often closely linked and for this reason we are seeking to improve the
levels of co-operation and co-ordination between all of the relevant
agencies. Our aim is not necessarily to prosecute
more offenders, but with the help of other agencies and the public we aim
to target and prosecute those people whose activities are likely to have
the greatest detrimental impact on fish health and the
environment.
The CEFAS
approach therefore includes the following measures:
-
Working closely
with HM Customs, the Environment Agency, police forces, State Veterinary
Service and others to identify offenders.
-
Targeted
operations against suspected offenders.
-
Attempt to
establish the nature, extent and patterns of offending.
-
Routine
monitoring and inspections of imported fish from EU and third
countries.
-
Working closely
with other EU authorities to combat fish thefts and illegal movements.
A more structured
approach to the problems surrounding illegal imports and fish-movements
generally. The introduction of the new Live Fish Movements Database
is an example of this approach. The system was developed by CEFAS, the Environment Agency, the National Assembly for Wales Agriculture
Department (NAWAD) and the Department for Environment Fisheries and Rural
Affairs (DEFRA) and provides for all legitimate movements of fish to be
recorded. Such a facility would be of immense importance in
the event of a major disease outbreak.
Seeking the views
of the fishing public and those involved in fish farming and fisheries
management.
An open policy
with the press and media to make the public more aware of CEFAS’ aims and
objectives. We also endeavour to candidly explain problem
areas such as illegal imports, and seek the assistance of the press to
inform the public of the potential dangers and threats involved, in an
attempt to reduce the market for smuggled foreign animals.
Confidential hot
line number to encourage the public to contact us with information.
Adoption of a
more consistent common approach to all enforcement issues.
Introduction of
the efishbusiness internet site which sets out details of the
relevant legislation, the various procedures involved and other items of
helpful information.
What
assistance can the public provide?
A top priority
for CEFAS is to gather detailed, reliable information on illegal importers
for the purpose of intercepting such consignments and preventing further
offences. Members of the public are invited to pass any information
they may have concerning the smuggling of live fish into the UK to CEFAS.
Any
information should be forwarded to CEFAS at the address shown
below.
All information
received at CEFAS will be treated in strict confidence.
Stephen Maidment
Investigations Inspector
CEFAS Weymouth
Laboratory
Barrack Road
The Nothe
Weymouth
Dorset
DT4
8UB
Tel 01305-206681 (out of hours answer phone), 01305-206673 (main
office)
Fax 01305-206602
E-mail
– Fish.health.inspectorate@cefas.co.uk
s.b.maidment@cefas.co.uk
Websites –
www.efishbusiness.com
www.cefas.co.uk
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