Council Regulation (EC) No 708/2007Show full title

PART 1 U.K. ECOLOGICAL AND GENETIC RISK ASSESSMENT PROCESS

Step 1 Likelihood of establishment and spreading beyond the intended area of introduction U.K.

a H = High, M = Medium, L = Low
b VC = Very certain, RC = Reasonably certain, RU = Reasonably uncertain, VU = Very uncertain
c The assessor is referred for guidance to Appendix A and Appendix B of the ICES Code of Practice.
d The final rating for the likelihood of establishment and spreading is assigned the value of the element with the lowest rating (for example, high and low ratings for the above elements would result in a final low rating). Again, both events — probability of the organism successfully colonising and maintaining a population in the intended area of introduction (be it a confined environment such as a facility, or a natural habitat) and the probability of spreading beyond the intended area of introduction (estimated as explained above) — need to occur in order to have establishment beyond the intended area of introduction. The final rating for the level of Certainty is assigned the value of the element with the lowest level of certainty (e.g. very certain and reasonably certain ratings would result in a final reasonably certain rating). The harmfulness of a establishment and spreading should be taken into account, together with risk/benefit ration, in arriving at the final rating.
Event	Likelihood(H, M, L)a	Certainty(VC, RC, RU, VU)b	Comments in support of assessmentc
The introduced or translocated species, escaped or dispersed, successfully colonises and maintains a population in the intended area of introduction beyond the control of the aquaculture facility.
The introduced species or translocated, escaped or dispersed, spreads beyond the intended area of introduction.
Final ratingd

Step 2 Consequences of establishment and spreading U.K.

a The assessor is referred for guidance to Appendix A and Appendix B of the ICES Code of Practice.
b The final rating for the consequences of establishment and spreading is assigned the value of the element (individual probability) with the highest rating and the final rating for the level of certainty is assigned the value of the element with the lowest level of certainty.
Event	Likelihood(H, M, L)	Certainty(VC, RC, RU, VU)	Comments in support of assessmenta
Genetic mixing with local populations leads to a loss of genetic diversity.
Competition (food, space) with or predation on native populations leads to their extirpation.
Other undesirable events of ecological nature
Some of the abovementioned events persist even after removal of the introduced species.
Final ratingb

Step 3 Risk potential associated to the alien and locally absent species U.K.

A single value is given based on the assessments done in Steps 1 and 2:

a The assessor is referred for guidance to Appendix A and Appendix B of the ICES Code of Practice.
b The final categorisation of risk potential takes the value of the highest of the two probabilities when there is no probability increment between the two estimates (i.e. if the Risk of establishment and spreading is high and the risk of ecological consequences is medium, the final rating takes the value of the highest of the two probabilities which is high. When there is a probability increment between the two estimates (i.e. a mixture of high and low) the final value is medium.
Component	Risk potential(H, M, L)	Certainty(VC, RC, RU, VU)	Comments in support of assessmenta
Establishment and spreading (step 1)
Ecological consequences (step 2)
Final rating of overall risk potentialb

The result of this assessment will be expressed in terms of the following risk levels:

A high-risk movement:

(a)

has a high risk of damaging biodiversity from spreading and other ecological consequences;

(b)

operates under farming conditions which would increase the risk of such damage;

(c)

involves an aquaculture facility which sells live aquatic animals for further farming or restocking;

(d)

as a consequence, the movement is of major concern (major mitigation measures are required). It is advised that the proposal be rejected unless mitigation procedures can be developed to reduce the risk to low.

A medium-risk movement:

(a)

has a medium risk of damaging biodiversity from spreading and other ecological consequences;

(b)

operates under farming conditions which would not necessarily increase the risk of such damage, taking account of the species and the containment conditions;

(c)

involves an aquaculture facility which sells its products mainly for human consumption;

(d)

as a consequence the movement is of moderate concern. It is advised that the proposal be rejected unless mitigation procedures can be developed to reduce the risk to low.

A low-risk movement:

(a)

has a low risk of damaging biodiversity from spreading and other ecological consequences.

(b)

operates under farming conditions which would not increase the risk of such damage;

(c)

involves an aquaculture facility which sells its products for human consumption only;

(d)

as a consequence the movement is of negligible concern. It is advised that the proposal be approved. Mitigation is not needed.

The proposal can only be approved as presented (no mitigating measures required) if the overall estimated risk potential is low and if the overall certainty for which the overall risk has been estimated is very certain or reasonably certain.

If, as a result of a first analysis, a high or medium category is attributed to the overall risk, then containment or mitigation proposals are to be incorporated in the application, which will be subject to subsequent risk analysis until the final rating for the overall risk becomes low with a very certain or reasonably certain assessment. Descriptions of these additional steps, together with detailed specifications of the containment or mitigation measures, will become an integral part of the risk assessment.