Bivalve molluscs: minimum measures for the control of diseases

The modified proposal incorporates the four amendments of the European Parliament: - the abnormally high mortality of molluscs should be seen as a sudden process which affects approximately 15% of the stocks and which takes place over a short period between two inspections (about 15 days); - as regards the register, this may be examined by the official body at any time, at the latter's request, and must be regularly updated and kept for a period of four years; - the Member States shall ensure that a permanent monitoring and sampling programme is set up at mollusc farms and in those areas of natural deposits where bivalve molluscs are gathered; - in addition to the list of sites where the diseases referred to in annex A, list II, of Directive 91/67/EEC are present, there is a need for a list to be drawn up of those zones in which abnormally high mortality levels have been recorded, as well as a list of those pathogenic agents which have been catalogued in these zones, particularly among those host species which do not appear in list II of annex A to Directive 91/67/EEC. �