Hazard Identification in Aquaculture

All risk analysis sectors involve the assessment of risk posed by a threat or hazard. The definition of hazard depends on the sector and the perspective from which risk is viewed (e.g. risks to aquaculture or risks from aquaculture). A hazard thus can be:

• a physical agent having the potential to cause harm (environmental risk analysis);
• a biological pathogen (pathogen risk analysis);
• an aquatic organism that is being introduced or transferred (genetic risk analysis, ecological risk analysis, invasive alien species risk analysis);
• a chemical, heavy metal or biological contaminant (human health and food safety risk analysis, environmental risk analysis); or
• the inherent capacity or property of a physical agent or situation to cause adverse affects, as in social risk analysis, financial risk analysis and environmental risk analysis (see Reantaso, Arthur and Subasinghe 2008).