'Quarantine and Disease Control of Aquatic Organisms' Unified under the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service... "Expecting Synergy in Responding to Aquatic Animal Epidemics"

Passed at the State Council Meeting: Enforcement Decree of the Fisheries Biological Disease Control Act and Others

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The quarantine and prevention tasks for aquatic organisms, which have been divided by institution, will be integrated and unified under the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service.

On the 22nd, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced that the draft partial amendments to the "Enforcement Decree of the Aquatic Animal Disease Control Act," the "Facility Standards for Animal Pharmacies and Manufacturers, Importers, and Sellers of Veterinary Drugs," and the "Organization of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Its Affiliated Agencies" have passed the Cabinet meeting.

When the Aquatic Animal Disease Control Act was enacted in 2007, the Fishery Products Quality Management Service, which had strengths in inspection at the customs clearance stage, was assigned aquatic organism quarantine, while the National Institute of Fisheries Science, which had expertise in aquaculture farm disease management, was responsible for domestic prevention. However, operating separate institutions dedicated to aquatic animal disease quarantine and prevention strengthened expertise in each task but led to decreased efficiency in personnel management and communication issues, limiting the response to infectious diseases. Furthermore, with the recent global increase in aquaculture production, the occurrence of new aquatic animal infectious diseases is rising, increasing the need for integrated management of aquatic animal diseases by blocking the domestic inflow of infectious diseases at the quarantine stage and promoting related domestic prevention measures.

With this institutional reform, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries expects that by unifying the aquatic organism quarantine and prevention functions under the Fishery Products Quality Management Service, related personnel will be managed integrally, and an organic cooperative system between tasks will be strengthened, creating a synergy effect in responding to aquatic animal infectious diseases.

Additionally, at the Cabinet meeting on the same day, the partial amendment to the "Marine Environment Management Act Enforcement Decree," which strengthens the qualification requirements for marine pollution prevention managers who supervise and direct the transfer and discharge of pollutants from ships and marine facilities, was also passed. Currently, marine pollution prevention managers can be appointed if they receive related education and training within five years after appointment, but going forward, only those who have received related education and training before appointment can be appointed as marine pollution prevention managers.

Moreover, the draft "Polar Activities Promotion Act," which provides a legal basis to encourage scientific research and promote various economic activities in the Arctic and Antarctic, also passed the Cabinet meeting. The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to actively persuade the necessity of enacting the Polar Activities Promotion Act during the National Assembly review stage.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.