A Vietnam News Agency reporter in Sydney has reported that Australia’s ban on green and raw shrimp from Asian nations, including Viet Nam, took effect on Monday.

The Australian government banned Asian shrimp imports after detecting white spot viruses in shrimp sold at stores and after a white spot outbreak in Queensland.

Starting Monday, shipments to Australia will be destroyed or re-exported. Prawn farmers were also requested to research the viruses as well as any problems in quarantine which led to the outbreak.

Earlier, the federal government banned import of raw or green shrimp after the outbreak of white spot disease was detected in five aquaculture sites on Logan River, southeast Queensland, as well as live shrimp in the river. The infected shrimp have been destroyed, while the Logan River area and the nearby rivers will continue to be closely examined.

Shrimp farm owners suspected viruses entering Australia from imported products from infected areas abroad, however, the cause of the outbreak has not been verified.

Late last week, the Australian government said it was investigating an importer for not following the rules to prevent white spot diseases entering Australia. Four other importers are also under investigation.

A spokesman for the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources Barnaby Joyce said that the investigation is ongoing and that the temporary ban on imported raw shrimp allows the ministry to reconsider risk management.White spot disease in shrimp is not harmful to human health, but it kills shrimp. It is estimated that the disease could cause a loss of tens of millions of US dollars to shrimp farmers. - VNS