URGENT!!!!!!! New Information from the USDA!

[Russell Peters]

I have been working with Dr. Merrill from the USDA to find a way to stream line the whole import process. The problem is that with all the different ports in the US, and all the different veterinarians doing inspections and all of the different Health Certificates out there, there can be problems. One small item over looked can cause a shipment to be denied. I sent Dr. Merrill copies of Health Certificates that I received from Toshio Sakai and Torazo. Dr. Merrill said that they will work as certifiable Health Certificates, but they are incomplete. That is right, with only the Health Certificates supplied by the Japan Fisheries Resources Conservation Association, there is a very HIGH chance that a shipment WILL be DENIED entry into the US. The reason is that there are two other small items that need certification as well that are not included on the Japanese Health Certificates. The first item is the certification that the shipment has been inspected within 72 hours prior to export and found to be free of any clinical eveidence of Spring Viremia of Carp disease. The second in the certification that the containers used to ship the Koi are new. If they are used they have to have a C & D certificate included on the Export Health Certificate.
I asked Dr. Merrill if exclusion of any of these two items could cause denial of entry into the US and he said YES!!!! He has come up with a template for a Model Health Certificate and has sent me a file. I sent the file to Sakai and Torazo to have them, at Dr. Merrills request, to talk to the Japan Fisheries Resources Conservation Association and see if they would fill them out and place their official seal on them. If they do, then Dr. Merrill has stated that no other Health Certificate would even be needed. Yes, if this new form were accepted then there would be no, absolutely no problem importing Koi into the US. Dr. Merrill has asked me to go public with this information as he has no direct contact with the Japanese Authority. I told him that this was rather frightening because the USDA and the JFRCA should be working together. He agreed with this but stated that with the sudden implementation of the regulations no channels for diologue has been set up between the two authorities. He is asking for a 30 day delay so that the new rules won't go into affect until October 30th. Don't count on this happening though. If you are importing Koi you still need to plan on it taking affect on September 29.
To make things worse, Miwa Sakai has told me that at a meeting of the Shinkokai two days ago, her father and all of the other breeders have been told by their authority that they are good to export Koi into the US. Neither the breeders nor the Shinkokai know about this new USDA glitch. The reason this is happening is because the USDA wants a simple template form that is universal and easy and I appluad that. The problem is that most people do not know about this new, very real hazard.
This is not a ploy or a joke. I have the form in my posession and I tried to upload a jpeg. on this thread and it would not take. I have created a link to our website, with a lot of help from my wife over the phone (she is out of town), so that you can see the form if you are interested. Being a novice at this, when I created the link, I did not know how to fix some of the spacing on the form so some of the information does not line up. Kari will fix it when she returns next week. The website is www.pskoi.com On the front page of our site it has a link USDA health certificate Health Form. Click on Health Form and it will come up.
Again, this is not a joke. Dr. Merrill said that if any one has any questions that they can call him direct. His phone number is (310) 734-0649.

[dick benbow]

Russ, just a big thank-you for the extra effort to keep everyone abreast of what your learning. This is very helpful and I'm sure I speak for all interested KB readers that we all are grateful...keep us "plugged in" as things progress

[lildude]

Quote: Originally Posted by Russell Peters I have been working with Dr. Merrill from the USDA to find a way to stream line the whole import process. The problem is that with all the different ports in the US, and all the different veterinarians doing inspections and all of the different Health Certificates out there, there can be problems. One small item over looked can cause a shipment to be denied. I sent Dr. Merrill copies of Health Certificates that I received from Toshio Sakai and Torazo. Dr. Merrill said that they will work as certifiable Health Certificates, but they are incomplete. That is right, with only the Health Certificates supplied by the Japan Fisheries Resources Conservation Association, there is a very HIGH chance that a shipment WILL be DENIED entry into the US. The reason is that there are two other small items that need certification as well that are not included on the Japanese Health Certificates. The first item is the certification that the shipment has been inspected within 72 hours prior to export and found to be free of any clinical eveidence of Spring Viremia of Carp disease. The second in the certification that the containers used to ship the Koi are new. If they are used they have to have a C & D certificate included on the Export Health Certificate. I asked Dr. Merrill if exclusion of any of these two items could cause denial of entry into the US and he said YES!!!! He has come up with a template for a Model Health Certificate and has sent me a file. I sent the file to Sakai and Torazo to have them, at Dr. Merrills request, to talk to the Japan Fisheries Resources Conservation Association and see if they would fill them out and place their official seal on them. If they do, then Dr. Merrill has stated that no other Health Certificate would even be needed. Yes, if this new form were accepted then there would be no, absolutely no problem importing Koi into the US. Dr. Merrill has asked me to go public with this information as he has no direct contact with the Japanese Authority. I told him that this was rather frightening because the USDA and the JFRCA should be working together. He agreed with this but stated that with the sudden implementation of the regulations no channels for diologue has been set up between the two authorities. He is asking for a 30 day delay so that the new rules won't go into affect until October 30th. Don't count on this happening though. If you are importing Koi you still need to plan on it taking affect on September 29. To make things worse, Miwa Sakai has told me that at a meeting of the Shinkokai two days ago, her father and all of the other breeders have been told by their authority that they are good to export Koi into the US. The breeders nor the Shinkokai know about this new USDA glitch. The reason this is happening is because the USDA wants a simple template form that is universal and easy and I appluad that. The problem is that most people do not know about this new, very real hazard. This is not a ploy or a joke. I have the form in my posession and I tried to upload a jpeg. on this thread and it would not take. I have created a link to our website, with a lot of help from my wife over the phone (she is out of town), so that you can see the form if you are interested. Being a novice at this, when I created the link, I did not know how to fix some of the spacing on the form so some of the information does not line up. Kari will fix it when she returns next week. The website is www.pskoi.com On the front page of our site it has a link USDA health certificate Health Form. Click on Health Form and it will come up. Again, this is not a joke. Dr. Merrill said that if any one has any questions that they can call him direct. His phone number is (310) 734-0649.

You are a very smart man.....you propably just saved a whole bunch of money to a whole bunch of dealers all across the USA.

[koiczar]

Hey Russ

I was looking over the template and found something that poses a question. In item IV it states that if the fish are "less than a year old (if applicable)" then the protocol is in effect. It doesn't explain or state anything about older fish, e.g. nisai, sansai, etc. Does that mean that their standard twice a year testing is considered acceptable for the older fish?

Mike

[dizzyfish]

PSKoi Home Page

Model Health Certificate

For the Importation of Live SVC-Susceptible Fish Species1

(and Fertilized Eggs or Gametes) to the United States

I. Identification
Common Name_______________ Latin Name__________________________ Age_________________________ Number of fish_______________________

II. Place of Production
Name of Exporter__________________________________________ ___________________
Address___________________________________________ __________________________ Name of Producer__________________________________________ ___________________
Address___________________________________________ __________________________

III. Destination
Name of Importer__________________________________________ ____________________
Address___________________________________________ ___________________________

IV. Health Certifications
The live SVC-susceptible fish (or gametes) in this shipment originate from a □ country, □ zone, or □ aquaculture establishment (farm) that has been tested for Spring Viremia of Carp (SVC) twice a year (with at least 3 months between tests) for a minimum of the previous two years. Water temperatures at testing should be between 13-20°C. if applicable. Samples from fish less than one year of age (if applicable) must be collected by an official veterinarian or certifying official representing the Competent Authority, and processed in a laboratory approved by the Competent Authority. The sample size should provide for a 95% confidence level to detect an assumed 2% prevalence of infection in the source population.

SVC virus detection assays include □ cell culture or □ other (specify)_____________________________
Cell cultures must be incubated on Epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) or Fathead minnow (FHM) cell lines at 15-25°C., with at least two serial passages and evaluation of cytopathic effect for a minimum of 7 days after each passage. All testing results must be negative.

□ This shipment has been inspected by an official veterinarian or certifying official within 72 hrs. prior to export and found to be free of free of any clinical evidence of Spring Viremia of Carp disease.

All containers used in this shipment are:
□ new
□ re-used (if re-used, specify disinfection techniques___________________________________)
Competent Authority seal Date_________________ (valid for 30 days from issue)
Name of official_______________________________ Title________________________________________
Signature_____________________________________
1 These species are: common carp, including koi carp (Cyprinus carpio), goldfish (Carassius auratus), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), Crucian carp (Carassius carassius), tench (Tinca tinca), and sheatfish (Silurus glanis).

[koiczar]

Quote: Originally Posted by dizzyfish PSKoi Home Page Model Health Certificate For the Importation of Live SVC-Susceptible Fish Species1 (and Fertilized Eggs or Gametes) to the United States I. Identification Common Name_______________ Latin Name__________________________ Age_________________________ Number of fish_______________________ II. Place of Production Name of Exporter__________________________________________ ___________________ Address___________________________________________ __________________________ Name of Producer__________________________________________ ___________________ Address___________________________________________ __________________________ III. Destination Name of Importer__________________________________________ ____________________ Address___________________________________________ ___________________________ IV. Health Certifications The live SVC-susceptible fish (or gametes) in this shipment originate from a □ country, □ zone, or □ aquaculture establishment (farm) that has been tested for Spring Viremia of Carp (SVC) twice a year (with at least 3 months between tests) for a minimum of the previous two years. Water temperatures at testing should be between 13-20°C. if applicable. Samples from fish less than one year of age (if applicable) must be collected by an official veterinarian or certifying official representing the Competent Authority, and processed in a laboratory approved by the Competent Authority. The sample size should provide for a 95% confidence level to detect an assumed 2% prevalence of infection in the source population. SVC virus detection assays include □ cell culture or □ other (specify)_____________________________ Cell cultures must be incubated on Epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) or Fathead minnow (FHM) cell lines at 15-25°C., with at least two serial passages and evaluation of cytopathic effect for a minimum of 7 days after each passage. All testing results must be negative. □ This shipment has been inspected by an official veterinarian or certifying official within 72 hrs. prior to export and found to be free of free of any clinical evidence of Spring Viremia of Carp disease. All containers used in this shipment are: □ new □ re-used (if re-used, specify disinfection techniques___________________________________) Competent Authority seal Date_________________ (valid for 30 days from issue) Name of official_______________________________ Title________________________________________ Signature_____________________________________ 1 These species are: common carp, including koi carp (Cyprinus carpio), goldfish (Carassius auratus), grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus), silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis), Crucian carp (Carassius carassius), tench (Tinca tinca), and sheatfish (Silurus glanis).

Okay, my bad!! I re-read the info in item IV and see where it talks about the older fish. It IS just there regular certification. It'll effect the tosai come spring with the more stringent requirements. But, then again, Japan is on top of all these protocols, so I guess it'll be business as usual for them!

Mike

Mike

[dizzyfish]

Is this the testing procedures Japanese vets have been using?

Cell cultures must be incubated on Epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) or Fathead minnow (FHM) cell lines at 15-25°C., with at least two serial passages and evaluation of cytopathic effect for a minimum of 7 days after each passage. All testing results must be negative.

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by koiczar Okay, my bad!! I re-read the info in item IV and see where it talks about the older fish. It IS just there regular certification. It'll effect the tosai come spring with the more stringent requirements. But, then again, Japan is on top of all these protocols, so I guess it'll be business as usual for them! Mike Mike

Mike, they are going on the assumption that Tosai born from Koi that have already been clear for two years, and kept in facilities that are clean are more likely to be SVC free as well. Remember, nothing is a 100%.

Russ

[Russell Peters]

Quote: Originally Posted by dizzyfish Is this the testing procedures Japanese vets have been using? Cell cultures must be incubated on Epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) or Fathead minnow (FHM) cell lines at 15-25°C., with at least two serial passages and evaluation of cytopathic effect for a minimum of 7 days after each passage. All testing results must be negative.

Yes it is.

[Koi Acres]

Hey Russ,

You have been in Cali too long the Area Code has the right #'s wrong order, it should be 301 not 310, I also have been in contact with them good info.