Fisheries: Fish farming and health
Fish farm waste and by-products
Animal by-products regulations
Regulation (EC) 1774/2002 laying down health requirements concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption requires member states to ensure adequate arrangements are in place to enable animal by-products to be disposed of in accordance with the regulation. This places a requirement on fish farmers to dispose of their fish waste in line with the regulations. The Animal By-Products Regulations 2003 (S.I. No. 1482) implements these regulations in England.
Through the animal by-products regulations, fish farmers are now required to dispose of their on farm fish waste through rendering or incineration. Certain fish processing waste and shellfish waste (classified as Category 3) may also be composted.
More information on animal by-products can be found on the animal by-products pages.
Aquaculture waste research and development
The requirements of the animal by-products regulations mean that fish farmers in England and Wales must now dispose of their waste using accepted methods such as rendering and incineration. Traditional forms of disposal such as burial are no longer considered acceptable.
The requirement for fish farmers to dispose of their on farm (Category 2) waste through rendering or incineration may cause difficulties for some fish farmers. Some fish farms in England and Wales can be scattered in their distribution, which makes requirements to transport waste to centralised rendering or incineration facilities even more costly and less practical. The EU legislation makes provision for the disposal of Category 2 waste by other methods.
Defra established an Aquaculture Waste R&D Working Group with the aim of developing the science to make use of these disposal routes. The group is looking to report on its findings shortly. More information will be available here in due course.
Contacts
For more information on any of the above please contact in the first instance:
Peter Madigan
Defra
Area 5E
3-8 Whitehall Place
London SW1A 2HH
Email: Peter.Madigan@defra.gsi.gov.uk
SEAFISH are looking at ways to help the seafood industry to utilise or dispose of waste in an environmentally friendly way while leading to better financial returns.
Page last modified: 21 April 2006
Page published: 8 April
2005