In the field of aquaculture and aquaculture products, the basic Community legal provision is Council Directive 2006/88/EC on animal health requirements for aquaculture animals, and on the prevention and control of certain diseases as amended by Commission Directive 2008/53/EC.
Council Directive 2006/88/EC lays down:
Minimum control measures in the event of a suspicion or outbreak of certain diseases in aquatic animals;
Minimum preventive measures aimed at increasing the awareness of the competent authorities, aquaculture production businesses operators and others related to this industry, concerning diseases of aquaculture animals;
The animal health requirements to be applied for the placing on the market and the imports of aquaculture animals and products thereof.
The provisions of Directive 2006/88/EC are applicable to fish, molluscs and crustaceans at all their life stages reared in a farm or mollusc farming area, including any aquatic animal from the wild intended for a farm or mollusc farming area.
Directive 2006/88/EC repealed from the 1st August 2008 the following Directives:
Directive 91/67/EEC concerning the animal health conditions governing the placing on the market of aquaculture animals and products;
Directive 93/53/EEC introducing minimum Community measures for the control of certain fish diseases;
Directive 95/70/EC introducing Community measures for the control of certain diseases affecting bivalve molluscs.
Nevertheless, certain measures implementing those three repealed Directives are either still in force or transitional periods have been laid down in order to facilitate the transition between the two regimes.