Busan City Fisheries Resources Research Institute Designated as 'Aquatic Organism Disease Diagnosis Institution'

Designation of National Fisheries Products Quality Management Service as Aquatic Organism Disease Diagnosis Institution

From this year, disease diagnosis and release aquatic organism infectious disease testing available

Busan Fisheries Resources Research Institute has been designated as a 'Aquatic Organism Disease Diagnosis Institution' by the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service.

An 'Aquatic Organism Disease Diagnosis Institution' is an organization capable of diagnosing infectious diseases in aquatic organisms through methods such as clinical tests, autopsies, blood tests, microbiological tests, and pathological tissue examinations.

National institutions or local government-affiliated research institutes, universities, or private research centers equipped with the facilities and capabilities to conduct disease diagnosis for aquatic organisms can be designated as Aquatic Organism Disease Diagnosis Institutions.

The scene of forensic pathology.

There are 26 types of infectious diseases in aquatic organisms, including bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and viral diseases.

The institute fulfilled the requirements by securing specialized personnel such as two aquatic disease managers and one disease diagnosis practitioner, dedicated laboratories, and essential diagnostic equipment (over 20 types), then requested designation as an Aquatic Organism Disease Diagnosis Institution from the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service.

As a result, the institute successfully passed both the performance evaluation and on-site inspection by the National Fishery Products Quality Management Service, achieving the final designation as a disease diagnosis institution.

With this designation, the institute will be able to conduct aquatic organism disease diagnoses and infectious disease tests for released aquatic organisms starting this year.

In particular, released aquatic organisms must undergo infectious disease infection tests, and with this designation, the institute can now perform these tests directly instead of outsourcing them to other institutions as was done previously.

Released aquatic organisms include 69 species (53 marine species and 16 freshwater species).

Kang Hyun-joo, director of the Busan Fisheries Resources Research Institute, stated, “With this designation, we can respond more quickly to aquatic organism disease diagnosis and quarantine measures,” adding, “We will continue to do our best to ensure stable production and supply of aquatic organisms and to protect the aquatic ecosystem.”