Commission Decision of 21 November 2003 laying down the animal health conditions and certification requirements for imports of live fish, their eggs and gametes intended for farming, and live fish of aquaculture origin and products thereof intended for human consumption (notified under document number C(2003) 4219) (Text with EEA relevance) (2003/858/EC) (repealed)

Article 2 Definitions

1. For the purpose of this Decision, the definitions in Article 2 of Directives 91/67/EEC and 93/53/EEC shall apply.

2. The following definitions shall also apply:

(a) ‘aquaculture origin’ means fish originating from a farm;

(b) ‘approved import centre’ means any establishment in the Community where special bio-security measures have been put in place, approved by the competent authority of the Member State concerned, for further processing of imported live fish of aquaculture origin and products thereof;

(c) ‘coastal zone’ means a zone consisting of a part of the coast or sea water or an estuary:

(i)

which has a precise geographical delimitation and consists of a homogeneous hydrological system or a series of such systems, or

(ii)

which is situated between the mouths of two watercourses, or

(iii)

where there are one or more farms and all farms are surrounded by appropriate buffer zones on both sides of the farm or farms;

(d) ‘continental zone’ means a zone consisting of either:

(i)

a part of the territory comprising an entire catchment area from the sources of the waterways to the estuary or more than one catchment area in which fish is reared, kept or caught, as necessary surrounded by a buffer zone in which a monitoring program is carried out without the necessity of obtaining the status of an approved zone, or

(ii)

a part of a catchment area from the sources of the waterways to a natural or artificial barrier preventing fish migrating from downstream of that barrier, as necessary surrounded by a buffer zone in which a monitoring program is carried out without the necessity of obtaining the status of an approved zone.

The size and the geographical situation of the continental zone must be such that the possibilities for recontamination e.g. by migrating fish are reduced to a minimum;

(e) ‘designated farm’ means either:

(i)

a coastal farm in a third country subject to all necessary measures to prevent the introduction of diseases and to which the water is supplied by means of a system which ensures the complete inactivation of the following pathogens: infectious salmon anaemia (ISA), viral heamorrhagic septicaemia (VHS) and infectious haemorrhagic necrosis (IHN), or

(ii)

an inland farm in a third country subject to all necessary measures to prevent the introduction of diseases. The farm is, if necessary, protected against flooding and infiltration of water, and there is a natural or artificial barrier situated down stream, which prevents fish from entering the farm. The water is supplied directly to the farm from a borehole, spring, or well, channelled through a pipe, open channel or a natural conduit, which does not constitute a source of infection for the farm and does not allow the introduction of wild fish. The water channel is under the control of the farm or of the competent authorities;

(f) ‘establishment’ means: any premises approved according to Directive 91/493/EEC, where fishery products are prepared, processed, chilled, frozen, packaged or stored, but excluding auction and wholesale markets in which only display and sale by wholesale takes place;

(g) ‘farming’ means: the activity that takes place on any farm or, in general, any geographically defined installation in which fish are reared or kept with a view to their being placed on the market;

(h) ‘fish products of aquaculture origin’ means any products intended for human consumption derived from fish of aquaculture origin, including whole fish (un-eviscerated), eviscerated fish, and filets, and any products thereof;

(i) ‘further processing’ means preparation and processing before human consumption by any kind of measures and techniques, that produces waste or byproducts which could cause a risk of spreading diseases, including: operations affecting the anatomical wholeness such as bleeding, gutting/evisceration, heading, slicing, filleting;

(j) ‘immediate human consumption’ means that the fish imported for the purpose of human consumption do not undergo any further processing within the Community before being placed on the retail market for human consumption;

(k) ‘put and take fisheries’ means ponds, lakes or unenclosed waters that are sustained by the introduction of fish primarily for recreational fishing rather than for conservation or improvement of natural population;

(l) ‘territory’ means either a whole country, a coastal zone, a continental zone or a designated farm, which is authorised by the central competent authority of the third country concerned for exportation to the Community.