Training courses

The Cefas Weymouth Laboratory is an internationally recognised centre for research into Fish and Shellfish diseases and the provision of advice and practical implementation of disease regulations. As a result, Cefas is uniquely placed to provide training for scientists, technical specialists and other professionals in the area of fish and shellfish health.   

The Cefas laboratory is:

• The European Community Reference Laboratory and National Reference Laboratory  for:
  • Bacterial and viral contamination in humans associated with bivalve shellfish consumption.
  • Norovirus.
  • Hepatitis A.
  • Salmonella.
  • Vibrios.
• The National Reference Laboratory for fish and shellfish diseases
  • Viral haemorrhagic septicaemia (VHS).
  • Infectious haematpoietic necrosis (IHN).
  • Bacterial kidney disease (BKD).
  • Gyrodactylus salaris (GS).
  • Spring viraemia of carp (SVC).
  • Marteiliosis.
  • Bonamiasis.
• The Office Internationale des Epizooties (OIE) Reference Laboratory for:
  • Spring viraemia of carp (SVC)
  • Infectious pancreatic necrosis (IPN)
  • Crayfish plague.
• The lead laboratory for fish disease for the international programme Biological Effects Quality Assurance in Monitoring (BEQUALM) for environmental quality assessments.

Courses available 

Cefas offers a wide range of bespoke courses, on all aspects of fish and shellfish health and related subject areas, are offered.  Topics, at various levels, include:

• Fish health and the EU Directive.
• Welfare and environment factors in maintaining healthy fish stocks?
• Fish health controls in Europe and third countries.
• Approaches to fish health monitoring for farms and fisheries.
• Bio-security for professionals and farm/fishery operations.
• Investigations into disease outbreaks.
• Grounding in tests available and sampling protocols.
• Biosecurity for work on farms and inland waters.
• Sampling fish for disease.
• Histopathology of fish disease.
• KHV diagnosis and understanding.

Course format

Typically, courses will run for one to several days and are designed in a modular format to facilitate continuous development and/or provide natural links to follow on or related subjects.  We operate a rolling schedule of courses with the aim of reacting to the demand of our customers rather than fixing dates.  Therefore we can remain responsive and flexible to meet your availability.  

Course sizes, depending on their nature, will be of a limited number of participants, particularly when a hands-on laboratory-based aspect is included.      

Course delivery

Most of our courses will be held in the Weymouth area and, specifically, at our modern and well equipped laboratory.  The training will be delivered by our scientific and technical staff some, of whom, are recognised experts in their respective areas. 

We can also run bespoke courses at your offices or in your local area depending on the technical content and the availability of suitable facilities appropriate to the training to be provided.  We can also develop bespoke courses on a wide range of fish health and related topics.  Please contact us to discuss your specific requirements or to find out more about our training or, indeed, to suggest topics.

Administration

Attendees will normally be expected to manage their own travel arrangements, although recommendations on locally available hotels and bed and breakfast accommodation are available on request. 

For more details on any of our courses or general course enquiries, please contact  us.