The current quarantine system of importing live alien fish to Korea is regulated by three legislation. Under the Food Sanitation Act (FSA), import inspections evaluate appearance, vitality, sorting, and heavy metal contents of the fish and fisheries p...
The current quarantine system of importing live alien fish to Korea is regulated by three legislation. Under the Food Sanitation Act (FSA), import inspections evaluate appearance, vitality, sorting, and heavy metal contents of the fish and fisheries products. Under the Fisheries Products Quality Control Act (FPQCA), the quarantine of live aquatic products for aquaculture looks mainly for pests and disease. Under the Aquatic Animal Diseases Control Act (AADCA), the quarantine of imported fisheries products regulates the import of prohibited aquatic animals used in aquaculture, food, and for ornamental purposes. The quarantine process consists of clinical and precise inspections to control pathogens of aquatic diseases. The quarantine process may include import risk analysis (risk identification, risk assessment, and risk management of the pathogens). However, the quarantine system in Korea lacks the appropriate ecological risk assessment for importing live alien fish from other origins. This makes Korea especially vulnerable to invasion by the alien fish.
Therefore, in order to regulate and control alien fish and other aquatic animals at the border, the quarantine system in Korea should be reformed as follows; it should draw up an ecological risk assessment specifically for quarantine standards and relevant provisions of the FPQCA and/or the import risk analysis of the AADCA. The system should also produce scientific evidence and appropriate protection for harmonization between international rules and standards. Moreover, it must accept a strategy for cooperation and information-sharing among relevant authorities. In addition, monitoring and inspection provisions should be established in order to prevent damage to the ecosystem and to ban the misuse of imported fish for different purposes after quarantine.