1. Good water quality downstream and ‘Pollution Alerts’
Mandy Pyke

2. Seafish NDPB pan-industry body “...a broker...” Funded by industry
Range of expertise, projects and initiatives

3. Coastal Activity

4. Terrestrial Activity and the Coastal Zone
‘Pollution from farming is a major contributor to water pollution. The aim of Catchment Sensitive Farming (CSF) in England is to reduce pollution from farming in surface waters, groundwaters and other aquatic habitats, both in the immediate catchment and further downstream.’
The reason agriculture is important to the shellfish sector is that faecal contamination from bovine sources increases the E.coli levels in coastal shellfish production areas.

5. Classification for Bivalve Harvesting

6. Classification System
‘Prohibited’
‘C’
‘B’
‘A’
Source: Cefas website

7. Excluding Cattle Reduces E.coli in Shellfish Harvesting Areas.

8. Norovirus 3 Million cases a year
17% of people shedding virons at any one time
2.5% - 10%? from contaminated food
Asymptomatic food handlers
Can’t determine viability

9. Outbreaks

10. Where does Norovirus come from
Humans
Person to person
Asymptomatic Food Handlers
Hospitals
Instant villages
Septic Tanks
Sewage treatment works (CSO’s)
(Source: Syvret, FitzGerald, Pyke, Hamilton 2010: Report for SARF)

11. CSO’s Implicated
“…CSO discharges contain a greater concentration of infectious virus (as judged by FRNA bacteriophage) than treated wastewater
Controlling the impact of CSO discharges requires consideration…”
Assessing the impact of wastewater
treatment plant effluent on norovirus
contamination in shellfisheries
EPA STRIVE project: 2008-EH-MS-7-53
Shellfish Safety Workshop
April 18th 2013, Marine Institute, Galway
John Flannery, Sinéad Keaveney, Paulina RajkoNenow and Bill Dore
CSO’s do add NoV to marine environment

12. Sewage Treatment We cannot build our way out of the problem
European CODEX White Paper (2010)
Focus on Pre-harvest removal of load
Call for x4 log reduction from sewage treatment
DEFRA/WRc Study (2011)
Only ~ x2-3 log reduction from sewage treatment
We cannot build our way out of the problem
licensed under the Creative Commons
KEY SLIDE (to expand)
NB 4 log reduction not possible to achieve and will have significant financial implications with dubious benefits (esp if CSOs are still discharging!!!!)
Recent report oyster industry (EU regulations)
Relay possibility - characterisation
Phase 1 –
Site optimisation – maximuse growth vs quality
Site specific – issues
Cc tool to provide more active amangement

13. EFSA Scientific Opinion on The Present Knowledge on The Occurrence and Control of foodborne Viruses Recommendations
There are no “safe limits”
Introduce virus criteria unless labelled “to be cooked before consumption”.
E. Coli monitoring and classification ‘should’ be retained
Depuration discredited as control for Norovirus
Introduce prohibition zones in proximity of sewage discharges
More stringent Cat B standards
Post harvest treatment validated for virucidal activity
Use of Pollution Alert procedures

14. Text Alert for CSO spills
EFSA recommendation
Ministerial Initiative
Trials and Pilots in SW and East Coast
Seafish is I.T. conduit between Water Companies and Harvesters
SAGB closely involved

15. Seafish issues text Alert
Water Company monitors CSO
CSO - Dormant
Weather Event overwhelms CSO
Alarm Triggered
From: Seafish
Lachington CSO has Started.
Water quality may be affected.
Please visit for more info.
Water Company s Seafish
Shellfish harvester receives text alert
Seafish issues text Alert

16. Active Management Harvest Delay Cancel Move Enhanced Depuration?
Enhanced EPT
Communicate

17. Seafish Guidance for All Stakeholders
Characterisation
Elements to be considered
Trigger criteria different for different regions
Workshops
Plume Models
Characterisation of each water body needed. Existing plume models may substitute if suitable
Trigger criteria may change according to WC capability. Industry in area need to be able to understand significance of any alert
Workshops were planned, lack of money prevented implementation

18. Text Message Trend By Area
Reflects Rainfall?
System is over reporting
– float switches?
New System
we are using floats we know the system is over reporting – we need to switch it over onto the new FDT monitors before we can use the data in this way as I suspect that this is going to improve performance.

19. What next What are harvesters doing? Roll out Pan UK?
Integrate with other stakeholders

20. Conclusions Activity upstream affects Seafood cultivation downstream
Communication is key
Broaden horizons

21. Any Questions? Thank you To: Anglian Water South West Water SAGB EACWF
Aquafish Solutions Limited