Fish Necropsy Manual
Welcome
Welcome to the Fish Necropsy Manual, a project made possible thanks to MSD Animal Health sponsorship and the support from the EAFP.
We are happy to share this work with EAFP members and colleagues around the world and hope you can draw some benefit from using this on-line manual. This project has not been easy to complete but we have enjoyed working on it and learnt a great deal throughout the process. We hope the content will enable those working in aquaculture or wild fisheries, whether students, hobbyists, lecturers, managers, biologists or veterinarians, to become closer to the fascinating world of fish. While the images are key to this guide, we believe it has to be supported by sufficient theoretical background to give context and enable to understand the features observed. Finally, we will be updating, improving and adding new sections to this manual so we suggest you revisit the site from time to time. Meanwhile we hope our colleagues from other organizations will feel encouraged to contribute with their expertise so that this necropsy manual expands to include other fish species relevant to aquaculture or fisheries in different areas of the world. Please note that the content of this manual is subject to Crown Copyright and should not be copied from this web site.
FISH GROUPS

The ten species currently covered by this necropsy manual represent diverse fish groups. This section provides a brief diagnosis by group and information on their relevance within aquaculture, fisheries or research.
TELEOST ANATOMY

The wide variety of fish species poses an important challenge in recognising “normality”. This section provides the basic concepts of fish anatomy and physiology by organ systems, assisted by images and figures.
NECROPSY
The core of this manual, the external and internal examination procedures, with a strong visual support throughout will be found here. Additionally, the general requirements, equipment, welfare, concepts of euthanasia, data recording and post mortem changes are also provided.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

To assist with the recognition of lesions during the necropsy procedure, this section provides an extensive images gallery of macroscopic external and internal pathological conditions and a thematic glossary.
About the authors




About this manual
This manual has a long history that started many years ago at the University of Comahue in North Patagonia (Argentina), when some of us were involved in education and training during the early days of trout farming. We considered a comprehensive fish dissection manual, with relevant additional information, was missing and started to focus on rainbow trout. Using the limited resources provided initially by the university, our first pictures were taken with a heavy camera using “photographic films”, something many of the younger readers probably have never seen: those cellulose strips requiring a lengthy developing process before pictures could be seen at all!
Despite the enthusiasm it soon became obvious that publishing a book with many colour pictures and on a discipline at the time far from popular or highly demanded outside the academic world, was going to be financially very costly. Then time and availability and our evolving professional pathways meant the project was put to sleep for several years. However, some stories have happy endings and years later we were approached by a publisher specializing in aquaculture. By then we were working in different parts of the world, but alongside this our experience had expanded and grown. Furthermore, some colleagues have moved on but a new one joined us enriching the group, and our renewed challenge now included widening the approach to incorporate other species and deciding to produce a bilingual version. Sadly, the project stagnated when the publisher decided to close the business and once more, the project slowed down for a few more years. However, with all co-authors continuing looking at fish, their biology and health issues, the idea never left our hearts. During an EAFP general assembly at the 2013 conference, it was noticed that the association had not offered recently any “extras”, following the success of the “What shall I do” manuals produced in the 1980’s. It seemed obvious then we should offer the manual as a contribution through the association where some of us have been members for decades. Time and financial resources were still limited, but we seeked and obtained the sponsorship from MSD Animal Health and the idea developed further by deciding to convert the manual into an on line application: the Fish Necropsy Manual project was re-launched and could now be offered to the EAFP! We believe the new approach would guarantee an easy accessible and interactive platform, allowing for regular updates and potential for expansion.
This work can be cited as: Noguera P, Ubeda C, Bruno D and Semenas L. “The Fish Necropsy Manual”, 1 Dec. 2015.
Available at: http://necropsymanual.