(1)

EFTA Surveillance Authority Decision No 298/08/COL (2) established disease-free zones and additional guarantees for Gyrodactylus salaris for Norway pursuant to Article 13 of Council Directive 91/67/EEC (3) and Article 5 of Commission Decision 2004/453/EC (4).

(2)

Pursuant to Decision No 298/08/COL, Norway may require additional guarantees for consignments of live aquaculture fish of susceptible species intended for farming, which are to be introduced to the zones affected by the Decision. Those additional guarantees consist of the requirement that those consignments must originate from an area with equivalent health status as the place of destination.

(3)

Directive 2006/88/EC repealed and replaced Directive 91/67/EEC. Directive 2006/88/EC also provided that Decision 2004/453/EC was to continue to apply pending the adoption of the necessary provisions in accordance with that Directive. Such provisions were adopted by Commission Decision 2010/221/EU (5) which also definitely repealed Decision 2004/453/EC (6). It is therefore appropriate to repeal and replace Decision No 298/08/COL.

(4)

Article 43 of Directive 2006/88/EC provides that an EEA State may take measures to prevent the introduction of, or to control diseases not listed in Part II of Annex IV thereto which constitute a significant risk for the animal health situation of aquaculture animals or wild aquatic animals in that State. Those measures are not to exceed the limits of what is appropriate and necessary to prevent the introduction of, or control of, such diseases.

(5)

Norway was granted the right to require additional guarantees pursuant to Decision No 298/08/COL and have provided the Authority with information on the disease situation as regards Gyrodactylus salaris. By letter of 6 October 2015 (Document No 775798, NO ref. 2015/193600), Norway provided updated information about the national measures for Gyrodactylus salaris. The information provided demonstrates the appropriateness and necessity of continuing requiring national measures in the form of placing on the market, import and transit requirements, in accordance with Article 43 of Directive 2006/88/EC.

(6)

Consequently, as Norway was granted the right to require additional guarantees in accordance with Decision No 298/08/COL for the introduction of aquaculture animals of susceptible species into approved disease-free areas or areas with approved control or eradication programmes, Norway should be allowed to continue to apply these measures as national measures approved in accordance with Article 43 of Directive 2006/88/EC.

(7)

The national measures approved by this Decision should only be applied as long as they are appropriate and necessary. Therefore, Norway should send a yearly report to the Authority on the functioning of the national measures.

(8)

Any suspicion of the presence of Gyrodactylus salaris in Norway, with the exception of the areas listed in the Annex to this Decision, should be investigated and during the investigation movement restrictions should be applied to protect other EEA States with approved national measures as regards Gyrodactylus salaris. In addition, to facilitate the necessary reassessment of the approved national measures, any subsequent disease confirmation should be notified to the EFTA Surveillance Authority and to the other EEA States.

(9)

In the interest of clarity, Decision No 298/08/COL should be expressly repealed.

(10)

Moreover, EFTA Surveillance Authority Decision No 299/08/COL (7) approved the Norwegian control and eradication programme for bacterial kidney disease (BKD). By letter of 6 October 2015 (Document No 775798), Norway informed the Authority that the control and eradication programme for BKD had been discontinued. It is therefore appropriate to repeal Decision No 299/08/COL.

(11)

The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the EFTA Veterinary and Phytosanitary Committee,