Our expertise in aquatic animal health provides the scientific and technical leadership necessary for the National Fish Hatchery System to produce healthy, genetically diverse fish and aquatic organisms which are best adapted for recovery and restoration efforts, as well as providing fish for Tribal and public sport fishing opportunities. The Fish and Wildlife Service’s science network consists of 9 Fish Health Centers and 7 Fish Technology Centers, whose accomplishments reach well beyond Federal hatcheries. Together, they provide assistance and support to our conservation partners who include internal, State, Tribal, and non-government organizations covering a broad range of fields including: biostatistics, population ecology, genetic analyses, nutrition, and internationally recognized research on fish diseases and pathogens of fish and other aquatic organisms. We are proud of our expertise and accomplishments and want to share them with all interested persons. We will continue to work hard on building and maintaining the strong support of all our partners towards the goal of promoting excellence in science for aquatic animal health.

The Purpose of this Site

1. Share accurate and reliable information with our public, fish hatchery managers, and the diverse group of partners who rely on our scientific integrity in the field of aquatic animal health management.
   
2. Describes the accomplishments and future goals of our comprehensive Quality Improvement (QI) program. The FWS-AAHP QI program includes traditional Quality Assurance/Quality Control functions, as well as applied studies that validate current and newly developing techniques. Our QI program will include testing of our laboratory facilities to demonstrate the standardization and proficiency of our Aquatic Animal Health Program. This level of QA/QC ensures the highest quality disease monitoring and testing, aids in the development and sharing of new technologies with our partners, and ensures the most effective means for promoting healthy aquatic animals and controlling the spread of disease.
   
3. A focal point for the wealth of information available on the web for anyone who has a need or interest to find out more about fish health, aquatic animal health, and quality assurance in the clinical laboratory. We have brought together the best information available from many web sources to facilitate a more complete understanding and application of sound science in aquatic animal health. We hope that users of this web site will explore the information and related links thoroughly, and contact the National Fish Health Center in your region if you have additional needs for information and support on health issues involving fish and other aquatic organisms.

About the Information contained on this site:

The information presented on the FWS-AAHP website is provided as a service to the public and the aquatic animal health professional community. The information and links are made available in good faith and are derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate at the time of release on to the Internet. This information is provided on the basis that readers are responsible for, and will make their own assessment of, the information contained herein and to verify all representations, statements, or information.

External information is outside the control of this website, and it is up to each internet user to make his/her decisions about the accuracy of this information. Changes in documents or websites, after placement on the internet, may affect the accuracy of this information. Therefore, no assurance is given to the information contained within this site, or the associated links. The federal government, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or any other person associated with this site is not responsible or liable for any loss, damage, or injury arising from the use of or reliance on any information, data, or advice including incomplete, out-of-date, wrong, inaccurate or misleading information.