Self-Declaration of Aquatic Animal Disease Freedom in the Republic of Korea

Young-Jin Yang ¹⁾, Mun-Gyeong Kwon ¹⁾, Jae-Ok Kim ^{1)
1) National Fishery Products Quality Management Service (NFQS)}

The Republic of Korea implements comprehensive disease management of aquatic organisms in accordance with WOAH standards to protect its aquatic ecosystem and ensure a sustainable aquaculture industry. As a result, it has become the first country to have published self-declarations of freedom from diseases not only in fish, shellfish or crustacean species but in all three, and covering the entire territory.

This achievement can be a model for advancing international efforts in aquatic organism disease management. 

Aquatic animal diseases can impact aquaculture, fisheries and the environment, threatening the survival of affected animals. These diseases can spread globally through international trade, posing a major threat to food security in many countries. To minimise this threat, it is important to implement a state-driven disease management system consistent with the WOAH standards.

Aquatic Organism Disease Control Act Since 2008

Under its Aquatic Organism Disease Control Act enacted in 2008, the Republic of Korea has established a systematic aquatic organism disease control, supported by trained personnel and financial resources.

As a national aquatic disease control organisation, the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service (NFQS) has progressively self-declared country freedom from aquatic animal diseases since 2019. This effort aims to prevent the spread of disease within the country, as well as the trade-driven, transboundary transmission of contagious diseases from abroad, adhering to international standards outlined in Chapter 1.4 of the Aquatic Code. 

Aquatic Biosecurity System

The Republic of Korea operates an early detection system that fulfils the requirements specified in Article 1.4.7 of the Aquatic Animal Health Code (Aquatic Code). Its main contents are as follows:

•  Aqua-farmers and others involved in aquaculture have a legal obligation to immediately report any signs of disease in aquatic organisms to the Competent Authority.
• The government provides mandatory training to those involved in aquaculture on a regular basis to raise awareness of aquatic organism diseases.
• Disease surveillance at aqua-farms is conducted by technically trained experts, and all surveillance data are uploaded and maintained in the national integrated network for aquatic organism disease control.
• Disease identification for clinically infected animals or those sampled during surveillance follows the Manual of Diagnostic Tests for Aquatic Animals (Aquatic Manual).
• In the event of an aquatic animal disease outbreak, organised disease control measures are implemented to prevent its spread.
• The country quarantines imported aquatic animals to prevent the introduction of exotic diseases.

Systematic Surveillance of Disease in Aquatic Animals

In general surveillance activities, inspectors conduct interviews and questionnaire surveys to gather information on the history and current disease occurrence status and mortalities. Inspectors visit each farm twice a year during periods when detection is most likely. Samples collected during the visits are sent to laboratories for pathogen testing. The Republic of Korea has over 80 aquaculture species, and aqua-farms for these species undergo approximately 15,000 general surveillance checks annually. Additionally, farms that raise susceptible species designated by WOAH (seven fish, six shellfish, three crustacean and one amphibian species) are subject to 600  targeted surveillance checks each year.

Status on Country Freedom from Aquatic Animal Diseases

Having met the basic biosecurity conditions and based on the results of targeted surveillance activities over the last 15 years, the Republic of Korea self-declared its entire territory free from infectious salmon anaemia in 2019, infection with Gyrodactylus salaris in 2020, infection with abalone herpesvirus in 2021, infection with infectious hypodermal and haematopoietic necrosis virus in 2022, infection with salmonid alphavirus in 2023, and infection with yellowhead virus genotype 1 in 2024. These results demonstrate transparency in disease occurrence information, boost animal and public health globally, and enhance trust with fishery trading partners and the international community.       

For aquatic animal diseases, the disease-free status of a country, a zone or a compartment is self-declared. While some Members declare themselves free from certain aquatic diseases, the Republic of Korea undergoes the official administrative and technical screening procedure by WOAH to have its self-declaration published on the WOAH website. This publication objectively demonstrates the country’s status of disease freedom.

To maintain its disease-free status for the six aforementioned disease types, the Republic of Korea continues its disease surveillance activities and upholds its basic biosecurity conditions in accordance with WOAH standards. The country plans to expand its status of disease freedom to a total of ten types of diseases by 2028, promoting the importance of aquatic organism disease control worldwide.

Photo: View of an abalone aquafarm © Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries