Contingency Plans

Contingency plans are part of a country’s “emergency preparedness” for outbreaks of serious aquatic animals disease and thus may represent a government’s last opportunity to prevent the spread and establishment of a serious pathogen and the associated economic and social losses that may result. An aquatic animal disease contingency plan is a documented work plan designed to ensure that all needed actions, requirements and resources are provided in order to eradicate or bring under control outbreaks of infectious diseases of significance to aquatic animal productivity and/or market access. Government efforts should concentrate on specific, high-priority emergency diseases, with a series of generic plans focused on activities or programmes shared by the various specific disease contingency plans.

   Effective contingency plans need stable resources and financial support, along with legislative backing for all control actions (access to sites, animals, fishery closure enforcement, etc.). The contingency plans need to be reviewed and agreed upon in advance by all major stakeholders, including the political and bureaucratic arms of government and the private sector, particularly representative farmer, fishery and community organizations that have a stake in the resources falling under contingency plan protection. This must include consideration of “collateral damage” to sympatric species (species sharing the same waters as known naïve resources), as these are increasingly subject to inclusion as “potential susceptible species” (i.e. carriers) under international standards.

   Guidance on contingency planning is found in the FAO publication  Preparedness and Response to Aquatic Animal Health Emergencies in Asia: Guidelines (Arthur et al. 2005) and in the Aquatic Animal Health Code (OIE 2007). An example of a national contingency plan is the Australian Aquatic Veterinary Emergency Plan “Aquavetplan”.  Aquavetplan consists of a series of manuals that outline Australia’s approach to national disease preparedness and propose the technical response and control strategies to be activated in a national aquatic animal disease emergency. Currently there are two Management Manuals (Control Centre and Enterprise Manual), two Operational Procedures Manuals (Destruction and Disposal) and eight Disease Strategy Manuals.