6.8 Aquatic Animal Health Services

The confidence that trading partners place in a country’s aquatic animal health status and the ability of a country to provide guarantees required by international animal health certificates is a reflection of the aquatic animal health services of a country.

The quality of a country’s aquatic animal health services depends on a number of factors, including the fundamental principles of an ethical, organizational, legislative, regulatory and technical nature to which OIE member countries have an obligation to conform, regardless of the political, economic or social situation of their country (OIE, 2016). Details of these fundamental principles are presented in the OIE Aquatic Animal Health Code (OIE, 2016). Each OIE member country has the right to request an evaluation of the quality of another member country’s aquatic animal health services where an initiating country is an actual or prospective importer or where a review of sanitary measures relating to trade from the exporting country is a component of a risk analysis process (OIE, 2016). Such evaluations follow procedures established by the OIE.