Aquatic animal health ‘bible’ to be updated

A guidebook for fish health will soon be updated to include standardized practices or procedures for a number of emerging fish pathogens.

Nicknamed “Blue Book,” the document is an essential handbook for fish health professionals in inspecting and diagnosing aquatic animal diseases. It is published by the American Fisheries Society Fish Health Section and was last updated in 2016.

The upcoming revision will also address the gaps related to shellfish pathogens as well methodology in pooling of samples to allow for the flexibility needed to get rigorous scientific information, said Jesse Trushenski, director of animal health and welfare at Riverence.

While it is a resource primarily for the use of aquatic diagnostic laboratories—and required by law in some US states—the works of those labs have very wide-ranging implications on farmers and the aquaculture industry at large, said Trushenski.

Manpower and funding resources are still being put together but Trushenski is hopeful the project will commence in 2020.