Animal Plant Health Agency
This guidance applies only to exports or movements of live fish, molluscs, and crustaceans for farming, ornamental, depuration, or any other purpose except direct human consumption, that are leaving Great Britain (GB) from England and Wales.
It does not apply to dead fish and shellfish, or fish and shellfish products, including live shellfish for direct human consumption.
You can find out how to export wild-caught marine fish and fishery product for human consumption at this web page export.
For information on live fish and shellfish exports to other UK territories and Crown Dependencies:
Exporter Authorisation
All exporters must be authorised to export live aquatic animals from England and Wales, as required under The Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009.
This is particularly important if you intend to export to the EU (including Northern Ireland), to ensure compliance with the requirements detailed in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2236.
The only exception is for sites exporting only to Rest of World (ROW) destinations which do not require inspection or health certificates. If this applies to you, please let the FHI know so you can be registered as an exporter.
Applications for exporter authorisation must be made on Form AUTEXP. There is no fee for applying.
Once authorisation is granted by theFHIyou may arrange to export following the steps detailed below.
Exporting from England and Wales to an EU Country
To export live fish and shellfish from England and Wales to an EU member state:
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as of 15 January 2022, Fish Health Inspectors can no longer sign export animal health certificates for exports to the EU. These will need to be signed by an Official Veterinarian (OV). It is the exporters responsibility to source an Official Veterinarian for this purpose.
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your export must be accompanied by an export animal health certificate. You or your importer must find out the animal health certification requirements from the competent authority or official service for aquatic animal health in the destination country, contact their?embassy in the UK?if you require assistance.
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you need to provide the FHI with details of your export and a copy of the written advice and animal heath certification requirements for entry from the competent authority or official service for the aquatic animal health in the destination country.
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the FHI will assess whether your export can meet these requirements and will provide feedback to you within 15 working days.
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once you have received confirmation from the FHI that your export can meet the requirements, you must contact an Official Veterinarian (OV) to make arrangements for them to inspect the consignment and issue the required health certificate. A list of OVs can be found at Official Veterinarian
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once confirmation is received from the FHI you need to submit an Export Notification Form EXP1, completed in full and signed either electronically or by hand, at least 5-working days prior to the date of export. You will also need to supply the contact details for your nominated OV.
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your EXP1 form will then be validated by the FHI. And if it passes validation, you will receive a confirmation email and the FHI will produce the appropriate animal health certificate.
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your nominated OV, should then contact the FHI to discuss arrangements for provision of the draft health certificate, notes for guidance, attestations from the FHI and to coordinate the inspection of the consignment up to 72 hours prior to departure.
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if the export inspection is satisfactory the OV will sign and issue the health certificate. The original health certificate must accompany the consignment. The OV and FHI must also retain a copy of the signed health certificate.
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your export must be checked and cleared at an?EU Border Control Post (BCP)?that can accept the type of goods, in the first EU country they enter. Your goods may be refused entry, seized, destroyed, or returned to the UK, if they arrive at an EU port without a BCP or at a BCP that cant check your type of product. Not all BCPs accept all goods - consider how to redirect your trade route if needed.
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make sure your importer or EU-based import agent has notified the BCP that your consignment is arriving. They need to check with the BCP to find out how much notice is required and use the EU system TRACES-NT to make the notification.
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make sure your consignment meets all labelling requirements for clearance through the EU-BCP and transport to destination. The FHI will provide you with a template transport label that meets the labelling requirements as per Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2236.
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comply with wider?HMRC?guidance on?customs requirements?for exporting to the EU.
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make sure you have the correct?EORI numbers.
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follow?animal welfare during transport rules.?Contact?