The United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is updating its Registered Aquaculture Export Facility (RAEF) inspection program. These program changes, referred to as “RAEF 2.0”, will become effective in September 2023 (final date TBA). General Information about RAEF provides an overview of the current program.

When an importing country requires APHIS (official) oversight of the exporting facility or premises freedom for any pathogens, the aquatic animal facility must be inspected and approved by APHIS prior to shipping animals internationally. APHIS will inspect and approve all new exporting aquatic animal facilities using RAEF 2.0 documents and processes at the effective date; and apply changes to currently enrolled facilities at their next regularly scheduled annual facility inspection and approval. Over the next 2 months, APHIS will host a series of training webinars about the RAEF 2.0 updates and expectations for external stakeholders and facilities. APHIS is also finalizing a new website dedicated to aquatic animal export resources which will include step-by-step guides on the RAEF 2.0 inspection program. 

More information about the webinars and website will be shared via email in the coming weeks. NAA will provide updates as they become available. Contact to Dr. Alicia Marston at alicia.r.marston@usda.gov for more information.