Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007Show full title

Article 15 U.K. Production rules for aquaculture animals

1. In addition to the general farm production rules laid down in Article 11, the following rules shall apply to aquaculture animal production:

(a) with regard to the origin of the aquaculture animals:

(i)

organic aquaculture shall be based on the rearing of young stock originating from organic broodstock and organic holdings;

(ii)

when young stock from organic broodstock or holdings are not available, non-organically produced animals may be brought onto a holding under specific conditions;

(b) with regard to husbandry practices:

(i)

personnel keeping animals shall possess the necessary basic knowledge and skills as regards the health and the welfare needs of the animals;

(ii)

husbandry practices, including feeding, design of installations, stocking densities and water quality shall ensure that the developmental, physiological and behavioural needs of animals are met;

(iii)

husbandry practices shall minimise negative environmental impact from the holding, including the escape of farmed stock;

(iv)

organic animals shall be kept separate from other aquaculture animals;

(v)

transport shall ensure that the welfare of animals is maintained;

(vi)

any suffering of the animals including the time of slaughtering shall be kept to a minimum;

(c) with regard to breeding:

(i)

artificial induction of polyploidy, artificial hybridisation, cloning and production of monosex strains, except by hand sorting, shall not be used;

(ii)

the appropriate strains shall be chosen;

(iii)

species-specific conditions for broodstock management, breeding and juvenile production shall be established;

(d) with regard to feed for fish and crustaceans:

(i)

animals shall be fed with feed that meets the animal's nutritional requirements at the various stages of its development;

(ii)

the plant fraction of feed shall originate from organic production and the feed fraction derived from aquatic animals shall originate from sustainable exploitation of fisheries;

(iii)

in the case of non-organic feed materials from plant origin, feed materials from animal and mineral origin, feed additives, certain products used in animal nutrition and processing aids shall be used only if they have been authorised for use in organic production under Article 16;

(iv)

growth promoters and synthetic amino-acids shall not be used;

(e) with regard to bivalve molluscs and other species which are not fed by man but feed on natural plankton:

(i)

such filter-feeding animals shall receive all their nutritional requirements from nature except in the case of juveniles reared in hatcheries and nurseries;

(ii)

they shall be grown in waters which meet the criteria for Class A or Class B areas as defined in Annex II of Regulation (EC) No 854/2004;

(iii)

the growing areas shall be of high ecological quality as defined by Directive 2000/60/EC and, pending its implementation of a quality equivalent to designated waters under Directive 2006/113/EC;

(f) with regard to disease prevention and veterinary treatment:

(i)

disease prevention shall be based on keeping the animals in optimal conditions by appropriate siting, optimal design of the holdings, the application of good husbandry and management practices, including regular cleaning and disinfection of premises, high quality feed, appropriate stocking density, and breed and strain selection;

(ii)

disease shall be treated immediately to avoid suffering to the animal; chemically synthesised allopathic veterinary medicinal products including antibiotics may be used where necessary and under strict conditions, when the use of phytotherapeutic, homeopathic and other products is inappropriate. In particular restrictions with respect to courses of treatment and withdrawal periods shall be defined;

(iii)

the use of immunological veterinary medicines is allowed;

(iv)

treatments related to the protection of human and animal health imposed on the basis of [F1 retained EU law] shall be allowed.

(g) With regard to cleaning and disinfection, products for cleaning and disinfection in ponds, cages, buildings and installations, shall be used only if they have been authorised for use in organic production under Article 16.

2. The measures and conditions necessary for the implementation of the production rules contained in this Article [F2 may be adopted by the appropriate authority by regulations].

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Art. 15(1)(f)(iv) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Organic Production and Control (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/693), regs. 1(2), 2(7); 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)

F2 Words in Art. 15(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agriculture (Legislative Functions) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/831), regs. 1(4)(a), 72; 2020 c. 1, Sch. 5 para. 1(1)