290 FISH HATCHERY MANAGEMEN 1 



herds of cattle in the United States and Great Britain if hoof-and-mouth 

 disease is discovered in any individual. Pullorum disease of poultry also is 

 dealt with severely, but on a more voluntary basis. Growers have their 

 flocks checked periodically and destroy populations if any individuals have 

 the disease. The success of the regulations is shown by the rare occurrences 

 of these diseases in areas where they are enforced. 



In 1967, Code of Federal Regulations, Title 50, Chapter 1, Part 13, Im- 

 portation of Wildlife or Eggs Thereof, was amended. To Section 13.7 was 

 added the stipulation that the importation to the United States of sal- 

 monids and their eggs can be done only under appropriate certification 

 that they are free of whirling disease and viral hemorrhagic septicemia un- 

 less they were processed by certain methods or captured commercially in 

 the open sea. In 1976, Canada passed federal Fish Health Protection Regu- 

 lations (PC 1976-2839, 18 November 1976) that reflect concern over the 

 dissemination of infectious fish diseases via international and interprovin- 

 cial movement of cultured salmonids. The Canadian regulations deal with 

 all species and hybrids of fish in the family Salmonidae. Both live and dead 

 shipments of fish are covered and a dozen different fish pathogens or 

 disease conditions are prohibited. 



Many states have passed restrictive regulations or policies that limit the 

 introduction of infected or contaminated fish. In 1973, the western states of 

 the Colorado River Wildlife Council adopted a Fish Disease Policy that 

 prohibits the importation into the Colorado River drainage system of fish 

 infected with one or more of eight disease pathogens. The policy describes 

 strict inspection and certification procedures that must be passed before 

 live fish or eggs may be transported to hatcheries or waters in the drainage 

 of the Colorado River. To support the policy, each of the seven states and 

 the Fish and Wildlife Service passed rules and regulations that support the 

 intent of the Council. 



Fish disease control in the Great Lakes Basin is the responsibility of the 

 natural resource agencies responsible for managing the fisheries resources. 

 The Fish Disease Control Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commis- 

 sion has developed a program to unify and coordinate the disease-control 

 efforts of the member agencies. The policy sets forth essential requirements 

 for the prevention and control of serious fish diseases, includes a system for 

 inspecting and certifying fish hatcheries, and describes the technical pro- 

 cedures to be used for inspection and diagnosis. Eight fish diseases are 

 covered by the program. 



A fish disease control program should emphasize all aspects of good 

 health, including infectious diseases, nutrition, physiology, and environ- 

 ment. The program should not be an end in itself, but a means of provid- 

 ing a quality product for fishery resource uses. The first step of any pro- 

 gram must be the establishment of long-range goals. These goals may be 



