Guidance

Prevent fish or shellfish diseases

Reduce the risk of disease, find out where notifiable diseases have been found and what to do if your fish or shellfish have a disease.

Published 16 May 2014
Last updated 19 July 2018 — see all updates

• From: Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs, Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, and Environment Agency

• Applies to: England and Wales

Each year thousands of fish and shellfish die from disease. Recovering from an outbreak can take a long time and can be very expensive.

Serious fish and shellfish diseases

You must tell the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) if fish or shellfish:

• could be infected with a serious or notifiable disease
• are dying in larger numbers or dying in a way you haven’t seen before

Prevent the spread of disease in fish and shellfish

You can help control the spread of disease if you:

• follow rules for imports
• perform regular monitoring to spot disease early
• contain outbreaks as quickly as possible
• use good fish husbandry practice
• follow rules when moving fish

• keep health records using the Finfish biosecurity logbook (PDF, 123KB, 7 pages)

• keep medicine records using the Aquatic animal medicine record book (PDF, 254KB, 52 pages)

• follow a biosecurity measures plan:

  • Shellfish biosecurity measures plan (PDF, 500KB, 28 pages)

  • Finfish biosecurity measures plan (PDF, 325KB, 32 pages)

  • Importer biosecurity measures plan (PDF, 244KB, 36 pages)

Control areas for notifiable disease outbreaks

If a notifiable disease is found, FHI puts controls in place to limit the spread of disease (these areas are known as confirmed designations).

If your fish or shellfish are in a control area you must:

• comply with any conditions issued by FHI
• get written permission from FHI to move fish or equipment (allow at least 5 working days)

Fish

Maps of areas with controls in place to limit the spread of spring viraemia of carp (SVC):

2017

• Warwickshire: Arden Lakes (PDF, 668KB, 3 pages)

Maps of areas with controls in place to limit the spread of koi herpesvirus disease (KHV):

2018

• Church Lane Lake, Essex - 6 July (PDF, 416KB, 3 pages)

• Newstead and Annesley Country Park, Nottingham - 6 July (PDF, 422KB, 3 pages)

• Parkers Fishery Pools, West Midland - 6 July (PDF, 392KB, 3 pages)

• Mawgan Porth Pools and Lake, Cornwall - 9 July (MS Word Document, 388KB)

• Mill Farm Fishery, Hereford - 13 July (PDF, 403KB, 3 pages)

• Swallow Aquatics, Rayleigh - 19 July (PDF, 172KB, 2 pages)

• Holme Grange Fishery, Berkshire - 19 July (PDF, 402KB, 3 pages)

2017

• East Sussex: Swanborough Fishing Lakes (PDF, 657KB, 3 pages)

• Surrey: The Lakeside (PDF, 1010KB, 3 pages)

• East Yorkshire: Risby Park Fisheries (PDF, 690KB, 3 pages)

• Kent: Mansfield Lake (PDF, 627KB, 3 pages)

• Staffordshire: Meadows Fishery and Manor Park Fishery (PDF, 854KB, 3 pages)

• Lancashire: Bannister House Fishery (PDF, 764KB, 3 pages)

• Humberside: Newlake (PDF, 709KB, 3 pages)

• West Yorkshire: Tyersal Hall Fishery (PDF, 636KB, 3 pages)

• Hertfordshire: Willows Farm Fishery (PDF, 851KB, 3 pages)

• East Yorkshire: Sam Hosticks Fisheries (PDF, 670KB, 3 pages)

• Lancashire: Cleveley Bridge Fishery Complex (PDF, 851KB, 3 pages)

• Kent: Danson Park (PDF, 1.18MB, 3 pages)

• Hertfordshire: Frogmore Fishery (PDF, 728KB, 3 pages)

• Berkshire: Windsor View Lakes (PDF, 565KB, 3 pages)

• Derbyshire: Birch House Lakes (PDF, 511KB, 3 pages)

• Shropshire: Monkhall Fishery (PDF, 460KB, 3 pages)

• Berkshire: Lea Farm Lakes (PDF, 791KB, 3 pages)

• London: Hampstead Heath Ponds (PDF, 1.83MB, 3 pages)

• Essex: White Shots Reservoir (PDF, 662KB, 3 pages)

• Lancashire: The Cunneries (PDF, 754KB, 3 pages)

• Northamptonshire: Boating Lake (PDF, 1MB, 3 pages)

• Essex: Cleverley Mere (PDF, 817KB, 3 pages)

• Cambridge: Manderson Trust Lakes (PDF, 618KB, 3 pages)

2016

• South Yorkshire: Lodge Farm Fisheries (PDF, 416KB, 3 pages)

• Staffordshire: Coppice Lane Pools (PDF, 438KB, 3 pages)

Shellfish

You can use an interactive map (Desktop. Mobile) to view shellfish disease controls across Great Britain.

Alternatively below are individual maps of control areas of each disease:

Bonamia ostreae

• Anglesey and Caernarfonshire (PDF, 1.13MB, 3 pages)

• Cornwall and Devon (PDF, 1020KB, 3 pages)

• Dorset, Hampshire and Sussex (PDF, 1.16MB, 3 pages)

• Kent and Essex (PDF, 1.46MB, 3 pages)

• Pembrokeshire (PDF, 1.01MB, 3 pages)

Oyster herpesvirus

• Essex and Kent (PDF, 613KB, 3 pages)

• Poole Harbour Dorset (PDF, 4.09MB, 3 pages)

• River Teign, Devon (PDF, 1.99MB, 3 pages)

Marteilia refringens

• River Tamar, Cornwall and Devon (PDF, 385KB, 4 pages)

Contacts

Fish Health Inspectorate

Email fhi@cefas.co.uk

Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm 01305 206700

Environment Agency

PO Box 544


Rotherham
Yorkshire
S60 1BY

Email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk

Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm 0370 8506 506

From outside the UK +44 1709 389 201

Published 16 May 2014
Last updated 19 July 2018 + show all updates

1. 19 July 2018 New outbreak to add to the list
2. 19 July 2018 Updated the outbreak list.
3. 13 July 2018 Updated the list of new outbreaks for 2018
4. 10 July 2018 CD04 included to the list of outbreaks for 2018
5. 6 July 2018 Three new KHV outbreak attachments added for 2018
6. 31 January 2018 Confrimed Designations from 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014 and some of the sites in 2016. They list has been removed from this page and has been moved to the press release page 'Outbreaks of Koi herpesvirus disease' and added to the list of finished outbreaks. And the CD for Manderson Trust Lakes from 2017 attachment has been included.
7. 9 November 2017 Added Cleverley Mare, Essex
8. 13 October 2017 Added Boating Lake, Northamptonshire
9. 30 September 2017 Added White Shots Reservoir, Essex and The Cunneries, Lancashire
10. 28 September 2017 Added Hampstead Heath Ponds, London
11. 25 September 2017 Added Lea Farm Lakes, Berkshire
12. 15 September 2017 Removed The Jungle, Derbyshire
13. 8 September 2017 Added Windsor View Lakes, Berkshire
14. 7 September 2017 Added Danson Park, Kent; The Jungle, Derbyshire and Frogmore Fishery, Hertfordshire
15. 16 August 2017 Added Cleveley Bridge Fishery Complex, Lancashire
16. 15 August 2017 Added Sam Hosticks Fisheries, East Yorkshire
17. 12 August 2017 Added Willows Farm Fishery, Hertfordshire Removed Porton Ventures, Wiltshire
18. 10 August 2017 Added Tyersal Hall Fishery, West Yorkshire
19. 9 August 2017 Added Newlake, Humberside
20. 5 August 2017 Added Bannister House Fishery, Lancashire
21. 4 August 2017 Added Porton Ventures UK Ltd
22. 3 August 2017 Added Meadows Fishery and Manor Park Fishery, Staffordshire
23. 28 July 2017 Added Mansfield Lake, Kent
24. 26 July 2017 Added designation notice for Risbey Park Fisheries, Beverley
25. 25 July 2017 Added The Lakeside, Surrey
26. 20 July 2017 Added East Sussed: Swanborough Fishing Lake
27. 27 April 2017 Added details for SVC at Arden Lakes, Warwickshire
28. 9 December 2016 Removed confirmed designations for: Gorsty Hall Fishing Lakes (Cheshire), Coopers Arms Lake and Weston Moat Fishery (Derbyshire), Frant Lakes (East Sussex), Morehall Fishery (South Yorkshire), Tin Mill Dam (South Yorkshire), Henstead Fishing Lakes (Suffolk), Crossways Business Park (Kent), Barford Lakes (Norfolk), and Willinghurst Fisheries (Surrey).
29. 18 November 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Lodge Farm Fisheries, South Yorkshire.
30. 4 November 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Curborough Fishery, Staffordshire
31. 29 October 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Coppice Lane Pools, Staffordshire
32. 28 October 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for The Hunstrete Fishery, Avon
33. 27 October 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Knightsland Farm Lake, Essex
34. 25 October 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Melton Ponds, Norfolk
35. 20 October 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Ash Grove Lake, Derbyshire
36. 12 October 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Kiverton Farm Fisheries, South Yorkshire
37. 11 October 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Five House Farm Reservoir, Hertfordshire
38. 11 October 2016 Added a revised oyster herpesvirus confirmed designation which covers Kent and Essex.
39. 7 October 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Thorpe Lea Fishery, Surrey
40. 5 October 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Fields Farm Fishery, Cheshire
41. 30 September 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Portland Fishing Lakes, Nottinghamshire
42. 22 September 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Jacobs Water, Nottinghamshire
43. 21 September 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Bells Mill Fisheries, West Midlands
44. 19 September 2016 Added designation for Manea Pit, Cambridgeshire
45. 16 September 2016 Added confirmation note for Frisby Water Park, Leicestershire
46. 15 September 2016 Added designation note for Packington Somers Fishery
47. 9 September 2016 Added the confirmation for Cromwell Lake, Cambridgeshire
48. 6 September 2016 Added confirmation details for Ferens Lake, East Yorkshire
49. 2 September 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designations for Mallory Park Fishery, Leicestershire, and Hayfield Fishery, South Yorkshire
50. 19 August 2016 Added KHV confirmed designation for Heron Pond, Nottinghamshire
51. 18 August 2016 Added KHV confirmed designation for Corner House Farm Lake, Staffordshire
52. 16 August 2016 Updated all confirmed designations for Oyster herpesvirus and Bonamia ostreae with a new condition.
53. 9 August 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Fleetwood Reservoir, Lancashire
54. 4 August 2016 Add KHV disease confirmed designations for Aston Park, South Yorkshire, and The Barns, Cornwall
55. 2 August 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Albert Park Lake, North Yorkshire
56. 29 July 2016 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Bierley Woods Waters, West Yorkshire
57. 22 July 2016 Added KHV confirmed designation for The Glebe Lakes, Leicestershire
58. 18 July 2016 Removed KHV confirmed designation for Maidenhead Aquatics, Greater London
59. 14 July 2016 Added KHV confirmed designations for Greater London and Lincolnshire
60. 8 July 2016 CD03/2016 added
61. 7 July 2016 CD02/2016
62. 7 July 2016 CD01/2016 - site no longer under any official disease controls
63. 24 June 2016 New KHV confirmed designation: Shuttleworth College Fish Farm, Bedfordshire
64. 4 January 2016 Confirmed designations for KHV removed on Whitevane Pond, Jeagor Farm, Boat Shed Pool, Ferens Lake, Brocket Hall, Noak Hill Fishery, and The Duckery
65. 24 November 2015 Added confirmed designation for Oyster herpesvirus at River Teign, Devon
66. 26 October 2015 Revised Bonamia ostreae confirmed designations
67. 15 October 2015 Added extension to Oyster Herpesvirus Confirmed Designation in Kent
68. 8 October 2015 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Ellis Lake Fishery, Essex. Added conditions to the confirmed designation for Marteilia.
69. 28 September 2015 Added KHV disease confirmed designations for Lake Ross, Woodlands Fishery, and Bourne Farm Pond in Lincolnshire
70. 16 September 2015 Added KHV disease confirmed designation for Thornborough Pond, Northumberland
71. 3 September 2015 Added KHV confirmed designation for Washing Pool, Worcestershire
72. 1 September 2015 Amended Oyster herpesvirus confirmed designation in Kent
73. 24 August 2015 Added KHV confirmed designation for Railway Lakes, Cambridgeshire
74. 13 August 2015 New KHV outbreak confirmed in West Yorkshire
75. 13 August 2015 Ruddy Pond Lakes confirmed designation added.
76. 7 August 2015 Added KHV designation for Morgans & Woodstock Ponds, Gwent
77. 6 August 2015 Added confirmed designation for KHV at Bankend Fisheries, South Yorkshire
78. 29 July 2015 Updated Oyster Herpesvirus confirmed designations for Poole Harbour, Dorset, and Whitstable Bay, Kent
79. 22 July 2015 Removed River Crouch, Blackwater and Colne confirmed designation and replaced it with a single designation which also includes the River Roach.
80. 9 April 2015 Removed KHV confirmed designations for Burton Farm Fisheries, Church Pond, Kingsdown Road Flash and Canvey Lake
81. 8 December 2014 Removed confirmed designation for Abbey Waters, Norfolk
82. 2 December 2014 Removed confirmed designations for Bradshaw Hall, Risby Park, Cuckoo Mere and Bee Fold Fishery.
83. 1 December 2014 Removed confirmed designation for Aldercar Lane Fishery Lakes, Nottinghamshire, and Alcott Farm Fishery, Worcestershire
84. 27 October 2014 Added new confirmed designation for KHV in Staffordshire
85. 2 October 2014 Added confirmed designation for KHV in Wiltshire
86. 18 September 2014 Added Wellow Dam KHV confirmed designation
87. 3 September 2014 Updated Trinity Waters confirmed designation
88. 2 September 2014 Added KHV confirmed designation
89. 1 September 2014 Added two KHV confirmed designations for Essex
90. 28 August 2014 Confirmed Designation added for Haddon Lakes, Cambridgeshire.
91. 20 August 2014 New 'notice of confirmed designation' inserted under the Shellfish/Oyster Herpesvirus heading for the River Crouch.
92. 15 August 2014 Added KHV confirmed designation
93. 12 August 2014 Added KHV confirmed designation
94. 11 August 2014 Added 3 KHV confirmed designations
95. 7 August 2014 Added KHV confirmed designation
96. 6 August 2014 Added confirmed designation for KHV
97. 1 August 2014 Added KHV confirmed designation
98. 30 July 2014 Added KHV confirmed designation
99. 25 July 2014 Added Bonehill Mill Fishery Confirmed KHV Designation
100. 11 July 2014 Confirmed designation added
101. 10 July 2014 Added confirmed designation notice and map
102. 16 May 2014 First published.