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Prawns White Spot Disease Outbreak


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I tried putting this in environment & politics section and tagging it, but 'error 401?' kept coming up so here it is....

Taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries newsletter

7 December 2016

Biosecurity
Queensland is continuing to destock and decontaminate ponds at two aquaculture farms south of Brisbane following last week’s confirmation of an outbreak of white spot disease (WSD) in prawns.

WSD is a viral infection that affects crustaceans. Australia has previously been WSD free and this is the first confirmed case we have had in an aquaculture setting.

This week, the infection has been confirmed in a pond in an adjoining aquaculture operation. This is not unexpected given the immediate proximity and business links.

Surveillance has commenced on prawn farms in the vicinity and in nearby waterways to determine possible sources of the infection while also enabling early detection of disease should it occur on other prawn farms. Working with Queensland Boating and Fishing Patrol, recreational fishers in the vicinity are being asked to report unusual signs in prawns and crabs caught in the area.

It is crucial that all aquaculture operators implement good biosecurity, observe their stock closely and report any concerns.

Description
Prawns with WSD may have a loose shell with numerous white spots (0.5-2.0 mm in diameter) on the inside surface of the shell and a pink to red discolouration.

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Devastating prawn disease found on farms near Brisbane; authorities destroy prawn stocks

 

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-12-07/devastating-prawn-disease-found-on-farms-near-brisbane/8100420?WT.ac=localnews_brisbane

 

A disease that has the potential to decimate Australian prawn stocks has been found on two farms south of Brisbane weeks ahead of Christmas.

Disease key symptoms:

·                                 Unusual prawn deaths

·                                 Loose shells with white spots

·                                 Prawns swimming strangely and coming to edge of pond or tank  

White spot disease (WSD) is highly contagious and lethal to crustaceans, and has reduced prawn farm productivity by up to 40 per cent overseas.

Queensland's chief biosecurity officer Jim Thompson said it was the first time the viral infection had reared its head in Australia.

"Australia has been the only major prawn-growing country that has not had white spot disease," he said.

"It can cause significant mortality in farmed prawns. Over 80 per cent of prawns can die."

Biosecurity Queensland detected an outbreak in a pond at an aquaculture farm, south of the Logan River, last week, but is refusing to disclose the exact location.

The disease has since been found at a neighbouring farm.

Dr Thompson said authorities were "very concerned" about the virus spreading, but were confident they could eradicate it, provided it had not spread further.

"We've got three properties that we are concerned about in that area, three closely linked properties," he said.

"We have movement control orders over those so we've basically got those properties locked down."

Authorities are destroying the prawns and decontaminating affected ponds to contain the outbreak and stop it entering waterways.

"We're obviously concerned about whether this can move into the environment," Dr Thompson said.

"The controls we've got in place are to protect the environment as well as other prawn-farming enterprises, and we think that's very much under control."

Biosecurity Queensland is checking surrounding waterways and urging locals to report unusual prawns or crabs caught in the area.

Australian Prawn Farmers Association chief executive Helen Jenkins has written to seafood outlets assuring them none of the diseased prawns will enter the domestic or international markets.

"This is an isolated incident and will not affect the availability of prawns for Christmas," she said.

"The disease does not pose a threat to human health or food safety."

The industry group, The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, described the outbreak as a "very serious situation" for the prawn farming sector.

Biosecurity Queensland said it was too early to speculate on how the disease had entered Australia

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A timely reminder from Dec 28  2006

 

The Queensland Fisheries Minister Tim Mulherin is reminding recreational fishers not to use imported green prawns as bait over the holidays.

Recent testing by the Department has found imported green prawns sold in some Queensland supermarkets carried white spot sydrome virus and taura syndrome virus.

Mr Mulherin says while the prawn diseases are not harmful to humans, they do have the potential to spread to local seafood.

" Only use Australian prawns for bait. I'd like to remind recreational fishers not to use imported green prawns for bait, these green prawns could carry the white spot syndrome virus or the taura syndrome virus” he said.

"These viruses are harmless to humans but are a significant threat to our wild and farmed prawn industries."

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Restrictions on Logan River to contain prawn disease
The Logan River is now closed to the commercial and recreational take of crustaceans as Biosecurity Queensland continues to respond to an outbreak of white spot disease (WSD) in prawns.
Chief Biosecurity Officer Jim Thompson said tests had confirmed the presence of the WSD virus in wild prawns from the river.
“We are moving quickly to reduce the chance of the virus spreading any further through locally-caught wild prawns, crabs or worms,” he said.
“Any movement of green, uncooked crustaceans taken from this area would pose a real risk for moving the virus beyond the Logan River.”
The Logan River is now closed to the take of these species from the Jabiru and Luscombe Weirs in the west to the mouth of the river in the east.
The movement control order restricts any movement of crabs, worms and prawns out of the defined area. Fin fishing and boating is still allowed.
Dr Thompson said he understood that this may impact on the plans of local fishers over the holiday period.
“However in this situation, we are obliged to take all possible steps to reduce the chance of spread,” he said.
“Disinfection and destocking of ponds at aquaculture farms on the Logan River has been ongoing since last week when the outbreak of WSD had first been detected.
“I continue to emphasise that infected prawns do not pose any human health risk, and despite this latest development there will be no impact on the supplies of prawns for the holiday season.”
Aquaculture operators and fishers should report any unusual signs in prawns and other crustaceans to Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23.
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cheers for putting that up e`cat :) 

I don`t suppose the white spot virus showing up in the Logan now is a surprise to anyone . I guess the prawn farms on the river draw water in and out of the river for their needs. Tidal movements should spread it into the bay and down to the Pin and Broadwater areas?

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Excerpt from Biosecurity Qld
https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/animal-industries/animal-health-and-diseases/white-spot-disease-detected-in-southern-queensland
 

White spot disease description

Prawns with WSD may have a loose shell with numerous white spots (0.5-2.0 mm in diameter) on the inside surface of the shell and a pink to red discolouration.

white-spot-disease-image-1.jpg

white-spot-disease-image-2.jpg

Signs to look for include:

  • unusual mortality  
  • prawns coming to the edge or water surface of the pond  
  • prawns demonstrating unusual swimming patterns  
  • reduced feeding and failure to thrive  

If you suspect a disease on your property you must report it to Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 or the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.

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Biosecurity Queensland

White spot disease - Industry update

13 December 2016

Current disease control activities

Biosecurity Queensland has completed decontamination and destocking on one of the three confirmed infected properties. Work continues on the second and third property and is expected to be completed this week.

To date approximately 700,000 litres of chlorine have been used to decontaminate 34 ponds as well as other water channels and settlement ponds.

Surveillance and sampling is continuing on the other five prawn farms in the vicinity as well as in the Logan and Albert rivers.

Further testing of samples collected from the
Logan River has returned negative results. More results are expected in the coming days.

Investigations into the source of the infection are continuing, including testing locally supplied bait, and tracing movement of stock and equipment between properties.

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Bill Byrne met on Sunday with local prawn farmers impacted by the recent white spot disease outbreak. Minister Byrne visited one property that have been affected to discuss their current situation and Biosecurity Queensland’s plan going forward.

Biosecurity Queensland has now provided information packages to each infected premises owner detailing their particular situation and the likely course of action going forward.

New biosecurity emergency order

To enhance disease control measures, Biosecurity Queensland has replaced the two movement control orders that were in place with a new biosecurity emergency order. The new biosecurity emergency order imposes similar restrictions on the movement of white spot syndrome virus carriers but increases the biosecurity emergency area to include the river banks, boat ramps, car parks and inlets. The order also prohibits the intake of water unless a biosecurity instrument permit has been issued by Biosecurity Queensland.

Additionally, the following items are prohibited from use in the biosecurity emergency area:

-       Beam trawling

-       Pots, dillies and traps for catching crabs

-       Cast nets

-       Yabby pumps

-       Implements (i.e. spades, forks) for digging for worms

People are reminded that they must not deal with a carrier of white spot syndrome virus, even if they are outside the biosecurity emergency area. This means that they must not keep, possess, use, distribute, dispose, buy, or supply crustaceans or other carriers of the virus if they are suspected or confirmed of having white spot syndrome virus.
 

Description

WSD is a viral infection that affects crustaceans. Australia has previously been WSD free and this is the first confirmed case we have had in an aquaculture setting.

Prawns with WSD may have a loose shell with numerous white spots (0.5-2.0 mm in diameter) on the inside surface of the shell and a pink to red discolouration.

 



Signs to look for include:

  • unusual mortality
  • prawns coming to the edge or water surface of the pond
  • prawns demonstrating unusual swimming patterns
  • reduced feeding and failure to thrive

If you suspect a disease on your property you must report it to Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 or the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.

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  • 2 weeks later...

taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland Update

 White spot disease update

21 December 2016

Current situation

Biosecurity Queensland has completed destruction activities in all production ponds on all of the infected premises in the Logan River area.

In accordance with the nationally-agreed emergency animal disease response plan, all ponds on infected premises must be destocked. The priority is to protect the immediate environment and the broader industry from any potential source of infection.

Disposal and decontamination planning is well advanced for the management of the treated ponds and associated material, including dead prawns.

Biosecurity
Queensland continues tracing investigations of materials on and off the infected premises to determine the source of the virus and its potential geographical spread.  At this stage, it is not known how the virus came to be present on the aquaculture premises or if the virus is established in wild populations. Comprehensive surveillance activities are supporting this important area of work, including samples from the wild environment in southern Moreton Bay, the Logan, and Brisbane and Pine rivers.

Given the significant number of samples entering the laboratory system, Queensland has made arrangements with the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute in New South Wales to test wild population samples.  All results will be returned to Biosecurity Queensland for analysis. Samples also continue to be tested at the Australian Animal Health Laboratory and Queensland’s Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory.

Description

WSD is a viral infection that affects crustaceans. Australia has previously been WSD free and this is the first confirmed case we have had in an aquaculture setting.

Prawns with WSD may have a loose shell with numerous white spots (0.5-2.0 mm in diameter) on the inside surface of the shell and a pink to red discolouration.



Signs to look for include:

  • unusual mortality
  • prawns coming to the edge or water surface of the pond
  • prawns demonstrating unusual swimming patterns
  • reduced feeding and failure to thrive

If you suspect a disease on your property you must report it to Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 or the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.
 

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taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland Update

 

White spot disease update

23 December 2016

Wild caught crustacean surveillance

Following the detection of the virus that causes white spot disease (WSD) in a small number of prawns in the Logan River, there have been no other positive detections from the 1950 prawn and 142 crabs tested from natural waterways in the region. The samples that tested positive were five greasy back prawns (Metapenaeus ensis) and one glass shrimp.

More than 3000 surveillance samples from wild populations are currently being tested by the NSW state veterinary diagnostic laboratory with these results expected soon.

Based on the surveillance data available to date, there is currently no reason to believe that the virus that causes white spot disease has established in wild crustacean populations. 

Further surveillance is planned for the
Logan River, Moreton Bay, Brisbane River and Pine River to determine if the virus has established in wild crustacean populations.

Farmed prawn surveillance

Approximately 4500 samples have been tested from the infected premises and nearby premises since WSD was detected. The results have confirmed the presence of WSD on four premises. Extensive surveillance will continue over the coming months to provide early detection of the virus that causes white spot disease to allow rapid containment and control.

Bait surveillance

Tracing has identified a number of businesses that received bait prawns from known commercial harvesters operating on the Logan River. The risk bait prawns, mostly greasy back (Metapenaeus ensis), have either been removed from sale, cooked or retained for testing.

Further analysis of the bait samples that have been collected, together with ongoing prawn and crab samples being collected in the Logan River, southern Moreton Bay, Brisbane and Pine Rivers will help determine if  the virus is established in wild populations.

Based on the test results available to date there is currently no reason to believe that the virus that causes WSD has established in the local bait prawn population.

Description


WSD is a viral infection that affects crustaceans. Australia has previously been WSD free and this is the first confirmed case we have had in an aquaculture setting.

Prawns with WSD may have a loose shell with numerous white spots (0.5-2.0 mm in diameter) on the inside surface of the shell and a pink to red discolouration.


Signs to look for include:

  • unusual mortality
  • prawns coming to the edge or water surface of the pond
  • prawns demonstrating unusual swimming patterns
  • reduced feeding and failure to thrive

If you suspect a disease on your property you must report it to Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 or the Emergency Animal Disease Watch Hotline on 1800 675 888.

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taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland Update

White spot disease update

28 December 2016

Current situation

Disease control activities are continuing on the four infected premises in the Logan River area over the Christmas and New Year period.

Chlorine treatment has been completed in all production ponds and is almost complete in surrounding water movement channels. Work will shortly commence on disposal and decontamination activities associated with the treated ponds and associated material, including dead prawns.

Surveillance and diagnostic testing continues on at-risk premises and in nearby waterways. All laboratories, including the Queensland Biosecurity Sciences Laboratory, the Elizabeth MacArthur Agricultural Institute (NSW) and the Australian Animal Health Laboratory will continue to process samples through the Christmas and New Year period.

A community awareness campaign is underway informing users of the Logan and Albert Rivers of the movement restrictions in place for crustaceans and marine worms. The campaign targets local fishers through a combination of radio, newspaper and social media advertising and signage at 15 boat ramps and other popular fishing spots. Departmental staff are on the ground talking to community members and information packs have been provided to local bait and fishing stores and local councils.

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol is monitoring users of the Logan and Albert Rivers to ensure they adhere to the restrictions in place.

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taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland Update

 White spot disease update

30 December 2016

Decontamination of more infected prawn ponds

Biosecurity Queensland has begun destocking activities on a fifth aquaculture premises on the Logan River after receiving positive test results for the virus that causes white spot disease in prawns.

The farm is about four kilometres downriver from the other four premises which have already been destocked.

At this stage it is not yet clear how the virus has come to be present on this premises.

There are three other aquaculture premises in the immediate vicinity, but one of these currently has no prawn stock.

Treatment of infected ponds with chlorine has commenced and heightened surveillance measures in the other nearby premises are in place.

Biosecurity
Queensland is conducting investigations of a range of materials to determine the source of the virus and whether there is potential for further geographical spread.

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taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland Update

White spot disease update

5 January 2016

Current situation

Five infected premises in the Logan River area are continuing to undergo eradication activities for white spot disease.  At-risk premises in the area are also under heightened surveillance.

Following confirmation of the fifth infected premises last week, chlorine treatment of ponds is underway supported by early harvest to reduce biomass. All harvested prawns will be heat treated to destroy the virus. Bird control has been increased on at-risk premises to mitigate disease spread risk.

Surveillance in wild populations is also being enhanced to align with the new infected premises, epidemiological investigations and risk.


Reporting white spot disease online


People who suspect white spot disease should contact Biosecurity Queensland immediately. The following information will be required:

  • Type of crustacean seen, caught or purchased with signs of white spot disease
  • Date the suspect crustacean was seen, caught or purchased
  • Where the suspect crustacean was seen, caught or purchased
  • Signs of white spot disease observed


Where possible take a photo of the suspect crustacean and refrigerate or freeze a sample as we may require it for further inspection. Please complete the following steps to prepare the sample:

  • Keep all packaging with any bought purchase.
  • Separate out different species or product purchased from different stores.
  • Put it into plastic bags.
  • All samples should be chilled immediately after bagging—storing samples in the fridge/freezer will not affect other food items. Freeze samples if they are not scheduled for collection within 48 hours.

Using soapy water to clean hands and equipment will remove any virus that causes white spot disease if present.

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Prawn industry in crisis mode as white spot disease spreads

 

The devastating prawn virus white spot disease (WSD) has spread to another Queensland farm, with claims the outbreak is affecting the livelihoods of more than 100 families.

There are now four farmers with white spot incursions, spread across five properties on the Logan River, between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Australian Prawn Farmers Association executive officer Helen Jenkins said losing four farms was a huge blow to the industry, with the combined value of the businesses about $25 million.

 

Full story….  http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-04/prawn-virus-white-spot-disease-spreads-queensland/8161410?WT.ac=localnews_brisbane

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Green prawn imports banned following white spot disease outbreak

The importation of green prawns into Australia will be suspended following an outbreak of white spot disease in Queensland, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has announced.

Full story: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-06/green-prawn-imports-banned-white-spot-outbreak/8165754

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Yep, government was warned that importing raw prawns was a recipe for disaster.

Although the prawns are imported for human consumption and cooking kill the virus, there were no garrantees that raw prawn products would not end up in the wild.

Australia's bio-security once again put at risk for the sake of commercial interest.

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Hard to know who to believe this was on a yank website

http://www.fishtruth.net/

Yet Matt Campbell who is a senior researcher with DAF at their Dutton park complex made the following statement on another forum,

"As far as I know there have not been positive tests on any crab. There is a lot of bullshit being thrown about by people with no idea what they're talking about! "

There is a very real danger that the disease has already infected the wild prawn population in the Logan as the drain from one of the farms always used to be a good spot for tigers when the farm was releasing water.

We really need to see some scientific results of tests carried out and not some politicians self ego boosting ramble.

Cheers

Ray

 

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if eventually, the contamination source is found/guessed to be the high likelihood of being caused by a small minority using imported green prawns as bait in that area, Joyces decision would be one of the 'hen`s teeth' times a government has acted on a minority and that has not impacted on the majority who do the right thing.... yet?

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taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland Update

White spot disease update

13 January 2017


Meeting to explore future of white spot disease

Biosecurity Queensland representatives met this week with the executive committee of the Australian Prawn Farmers Association to talk through the white spot disease response and look at options for returning the Queensland prawn farmers to production as quickly as possible.

During the meeting there was consensus that the disease response is moving in the right direction and eradication of white spot disease is the goal.

Discussions looked at options that might allow the infected properties to be back up and running in time for the next production season that commences in October.

Attendees agreed that a lot has been learned so far during this disease response and a discussion looked at options for preventing this from occurring again, including new farm biosecurity practices.


Expert advisory group

Biosecurity Queensland capabilities have been boosted with the appointment of three leading experts to an advisory panel to guide future disease management options.

The panel members had been selected for their expertise in aquatic animal health and disease management, specifically white spot disease, biosecurity and fisheries management.

They will provide an objective external assessment of the options available and using their extensive experience to provide critical advice to ensure we achieve the best possible outcome.

While eradication remains the objective, the expert panel will assess the feasibility of alternate approaches and the impacts on
Queensland’s aquaculture industry, wild-harvest fisheries and the environment.

At the first meeting with the panel this week the panel was provided detailed information on the response to date and we are expecting their initial assessment report soon.

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Taken from FW email newsletter 16 -1 -17

The Australian Government Department of Agriculture and Water Resources continues to work collaboratively with the Queensland Government to determine the origin of the outbreak of white spot disease in prawn farms in south-east Queensland.

Deputy Secretary Lyn O’Connell said: “The department continues to investigate how this outbreak of white spot disease has occurred, but no definite link has been determined at this point.”

“We are still looking at a number of pathways that may have resulted in the white spot disease incursion in Queensland, including imported feed or probiotics, contaminated equipment, or even discarded uncooked prawns—or bits of prawns—that were purchased to eat.

“In the course of our investigations, the department did come across recreational fishers using imported prawns labelled for human consumption for bait in the Logan River,” said O’Connell.

“Subsequent testing of the product did return positive results for the virus.

“What this tells us is that fishers using infected imported prawns for bait is one possible pathway for this disease to get into our river system and onto prawn farms—and is why prawns imported for human consumption should never be used for bait.”


 

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39 minutes ago, Luc53 said:

Given the WSD was found in aquaculture ponds and not the Logan, it beggars belief that recreational fishers were the cause.

As far as I'm aware, the aquaculture ponds in questions are not open to fishing by the general public.

Contaminated food used by the farmers is a far more likely scenario.

The aquaculture farms in question pump water in from the logan. If the disease was present in the "wild", various "micro" organisms can carry it including copepods and alike, very easy to be carried from the river into the farm where it would spread extremely quickly. The disease was confirmed in the wild population hence the shutdown of movement and harvesting of Crustacea in the Albert/logan system.

 

it could potentially have been in the river for year/s before it made it into the farms as well.

 

the other options are possible, however less likely than contaminated prawns being introduced into the river.

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taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland Update

White spot disease update

20 January 2017

Current situation

Biosecurity Queensland has completed the treatment of all production ponds on five aquaculture farms in the Logan River region after white spot disease was detected in late 2016.

This is the largest aquatic animal disease response in Queensland and to date 112 production ponds on five infected premises have been treated with more than 2.8 million litres of chlorine. More than 50,000 tests for white spot disease have been completed on crustacean samples collected from the region and this figure will continue to rise as surveillance is expanded.

Bird mitigation

Bird mitigation activities will decrease over the coming weeks as treatment work is completed and the risk of disease spread through bird movement decreases.

With treatment finished on the first four infected premises, bird mitigation has ceased surrounding those properties. Additionally, the use of bird mitigation techniques such as gas guns will now be limited to 6:00am-6:00pm daily.


Community drop-in sessions

Two community information drop-in sessions are being held this week, with fishers and residents invited to attend. Staff will be available to discuss the emergency response at the below locations:

Thursday 19 January 2017
7am-11am

Skinners Road
boat ramp, Carbrook

Friday 20 January 2017
7am-11am

Cabbage Tree Point Road
boat ramp, Steiglitz
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Biosecurity Queensland Update

White spot disease

25 January 2017

Decontamination and disposal work

Biosecurity Queensland is working with property owners to develop a detailed strategy to safely decontaminate the five infected properties in the Logan River region, with the goal of returning them to production later this year.

The work to restore the properties to operation will take many months and includes the safe treatment and release of water, management of the remaining sediment, including disposal and decontamination, and confirmation testing to ensure the properties are free of white spot syndrome virus.

Production ponds that have been treated with chlorine are being monitored for a period of 40 days to allow for decomposition of remaining crustaceans and inactivation of the virus. It is crucial that enough time is allowed to ensure that all virus is destroyed. The first of the ponds treated are nearing the end of this monitoring period.

Once this process is complete, the release of treated water into the waterways will commence. This will involve further chlorine treatment to destroy any remaining virus and screening to remove solid material. This process ensures that the virus is not released into waterways. The level of chlorine will be monitored and water will only be released when environmentally safe to do so. This process meets the strict criteria outlined by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.

Once empty, ponds will be dried for 30 days and treated with lime to finalise the decontamination.

If no further positive tests for white spot disease are received, it is anticipated that the farms will recommence operation in October 2017 under close surveillance from Biosecurity Queensland.

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taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland

White spot disease update

27 January 2017

Current situation
Biosecurity Queensland has commenced the next phase of the white spot disease response with a plan to release treated water from a property next week.
Production ponds that have been treated with chlorine are being monitored for a period of 40 days to allow for decomposition of remaining crustaceans and inactivation of the virus.

The level of chlorine and water quality will be monitored and water will only be released when environmentally safe to do so. This process meets the strict criteria outlined by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection.
The second chlorine treatment and subsequent water release will increase over the coming weeks as more production ponds complete their deactivation period. 

Surveillance and testing will continue in natural waterways for signs of the virus that causes white spot disease.


Crab surveillance

Work is underway to assess the abundance and disease status of red-fingered marsh crabs near infected premises. To date, more than 110 red-fingered marsh crabs have been tested for white spot disease with no positive results. Further surveillance will be conducted over the coming weeks.

Logan River movement controls

A movement control order commenced on the Logan River on 21 January 2017 replacing the biosecurity emergency order that expired that day.

The movement control maintains the existing restriction on the movement of crustaceans such as prawns, crabs and yabbies out of the area. The current movement control order is in place until 20 April 2017, when Biosecurity Queensland will assess the need for maintaining the restrictions.

Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol (QBFP) have been patrolling the river regularly since the second week of December to ensure that restrictions are being complied with.To the credit of local fishers on the Logan and Albert Rivers, they have not encountered anyone breaching the movement controls.

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taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland

White spot disease update

 3 February 2017

Current situation
Positive test results for the virus that causes white spot disease (WSD) in prawns have been received for a sixth aquaculture farm south of the Logan River.Prawn stock on the sixth infected property has been harvested. Treatment of the ponds will now occur. 
There are eight farms in this area. Six have now been confirmed with the virus, one currently has no stock in its ponds, and one is still free of the virus. Surveillance is continuing.
Biosecurity
Queensland will begin the process of draining ponds, drying out and managing sediment from the farms which have already been destocked. This is expected to take a number of months.

This week a single prawn taken from the Logan River has tested positive for the virus that causes white spot disease. This is only the second time the virus has been found in prawns in the river adjacent to the aquaculture farms at Alberton following a positive detection in early December 2016. Given there have only been a small number of positive detections from more than 8000 samples of wild-caught crustaceans, we are still working to understand if the virus is established in local waterways. Surveillance is continuing in the Logan River and other natural waterways.

 

Industry meetings
Biosecurity Queensland met with the prawn farmers impacted by this disease incident, along with key industry members and the white spot disease advisory panel.
The expert advisory panel presented their recommendations for future white spot disease management options. The panel members were selected for their expertise in aquatic animal health and disease management, biosecurity and white spot disease.
Their role is to provide an objective assessment of the options available and using their extensive experience provide critical advice to ensure we achieve the best possible outcome. 
Biosecurity
Queensland also met with commercial fishers and a recreational fishing representative to discuss white spot disease management under a range of possible future scenarios. 

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There is a story on the ABC news website today that more than 100 prawns had been found with the virus south of the river mouth.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-08/white-spot-disease-wild-prawns-logan-river/8252562

There is a hint at the end of the article from the fisheries agent that the infected prawns may have been dumped by one of the farms

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taken from Dept Agriculture and Fisheries email newsletter

 

Biosecurity Queensland

White Spot Disease Update

8 February 2017

Current situation

New test results confirm that the virus that causes white spot disease in prawns has been identified in a new location near the LoganRiver.

As part of the ongoing surveillance program, more than 100 prawns taken from a site just south of the mouth of the Logan River have returned positive test results for the virus that causes white spot disease.


Of the more than 8,000 wild caught prawns since early December only seven positive results have been detected until now. Biosecurity Queensland is investigating the cause of the sudden spike in positive cases. All pathways are being investigated to identify the source.

Sampling and testing will continue to monitor the survival of the virus in the wild and to assess if it has established in the natural waterways. There remains a large number of samples currently undergoing testing at various laboratories. The results will continue to inform our approach to the current program, including our surveillance activities.

The national Aquatic Consultative Committee on Emergency Animal Disease (AqCCEAD) has endorsed the current disease control program as the best way to manage this issue.

Work will continue to decontaminate the affected aquaculture farms in the area, and further discussions will take place with the individual farmers, industry and national authorities to identify strategies to allow prawn farming in the area to continue.

The restrictions on the movement of crustaceans and worms from the Logan and Albert Rivers will remain in place while work is undertaken with the seafood and prawn farming industries on a plan for the next season.

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