Quarantine facility?

[snickalls]

Hi all

I am looking for a quarantine facility to handle a one of shipment from Washington DC. However, i am having trouble finding one. I have a list of facilities supplied by biosecurity NZ and have contacted all but two (those two have no email address). It seams none of them are willing to provide a quarantine service. What can I do? Besides setting one up for myself. Any help appreciated.

[livingart]

Building your own is really the only other option,

[alanmin4304]

Importers over time establish a good relationship with certain exporters and freight arrangements. They are in the business of importing fish to make a living and it is not worth their while to import and quarantine fish from unknown countries exporters and freighters. You are not the first to ask this question and I guess will not be the last. The only way is to do it yourself but win lotto first. I say this from experience as in a previous life I imported goldfish and was put through the hoops so much by what was then Maf that I flagged it part way through.

[snickalls]

Thanks for your replies.

I understand the reasons why, but it is still disappointing. Just out of curiosity what were the major costs involved when you’re looking to set up your own quarantine facility? If the expense wasn’t going to be out of control do you think this is something that could be set up at home?

Any more advice regarding the process would be appreciated.

[JaSa]

Use the search button. I'm pretty sure a person here on this forum was able to rent a tank in a quarantine facility for $500 which included pretty much everything. Fish had to come into the country on a certain date to fit in with the other shippments of the facility. Contact this person and see how you go. Can't remember where it was or who it was - that's why you have to search for it.

Cheers,

JaSa

[snickalls]

Thanks JaSa.

[alanmin4304]

I built a separate fish house with a building consent for importing and quarantine of fish. You need to make sure the building consent is issued for that purpose. In my case they changed it on the application and because I worked for another Council I went in and told them that it was a legal document and they had no right to change it so it was changed back. This use complied with the district plan as a home occupation because I stated on the application that there would be no additional staff --only me and there would be no retail sales from the premises--no traffic problems. I then applied to MAF (now MPI) for a licence to import and quarantine fish. They wanted to inspect the premises (tanks, lights and everything) which they did and I had to get a letter from the Council to say they had no objection. This was a few years ago and I know the structural requirements are a bit tougher but not a lot. The testing regime on certain fish is now a lot tougher and you pay for that. It is highly unlikely that it would be worth your while for one lot of fish. It is likely that established importers will stop bringing in some types of fish for this reason and there are some allowed fish that most importers will not bring in now because of this.

[snickalls]

Thanks alanmin4304. I have another question if its no trouble. Where can I find info on the requirements for a facility i.e. the build/structural requirements. I'm currently working for a plumbing retail store, this might go some way to reducing costs.

[boban_nz]

Transitional Facilities for Ornamental fish and Marine Invertebrate

Biosecurity Act 1993

Importing Salt and Freshwater Organisms

Good luck with that.

[livingart]

:gopo:

[snickalls]

Thanks boban_nz. I must admit I had skim read the transitional facility document but not closely enough it seems (at that time I was not looking at this as an option). It appears the build is mostly strait forward, that is if a garage conversion would be allowed. I'll re-read closely.

[livingart]

Yes a garage is good

[alanmin4304]

A separate building to the house is required and the main difference from when I was doing it is that an ante room is required where street clothing can be stored along with washing facilities etc. If you imagine it is a food preparation area then the details are the same. Easy cleaning surfaces etc, no bare wood, polystyrene etc, graded floors which will contain water if tanks break. It will not work to line a garage with insulation and set up tanks. Mine was a purpose built room , heavily insulated and lined with coloursteel sheeting painted with Maf approved antifungal paint. The standard has risen since those days. You also must have a separate freezer for any dead fish and approved disposal of any water which when I did it had to be treated with 50ppm chlorine for 24 hours before discharge to the sewer or to a ground soakage system.

[Adrienne]

Not sure where in the country you are based but from my understanding it costs an awful lot for building permits etc for this sort of facility as well. Its not as simple as getting a skyline plonked on a concrete pad.

[alanmin4304]

Hardly worth it for one lot of fish. When I imported, I had 7 inspections from Maf over the first 6 weeks and each one cost more than I paid for the fish. You now have to pay for the testing as well and I know importers who have paid thousands for the testing of one type of fish. I would suggest you flag the idea unless you have already won lotto and are wondering what to spend the money on.

[hovmoller]

Certainly a shame for our hobby that it is so difficult/expensive to bring in new stock.