Fish health laboratory

The fish health laboratory is a work unit dedicated to:

• Management of fish health needs at state fish hatcheries.

• Maintenance of DNR's statewide fish disease surveillance programs.

• Management of the interagency fish contaminants monitoring program.

• Fish health certification for fish transport permitting.

• Responding to fish mortality events.

The labratory is comprised of four full-time biologists who operate a microbiology laboratory at the DNR central office and travel around the state to perform fish health inspections, fish disease surveys, fish mortality event investigations and other fish health research projects.

Fish health certification

Email or call the laboratory to schedule a fish health inspection for your facility. You can schedule staff or a DNR-certified fish collector to inspect your facility and collect fish for health certification, following the American Fisheries Society Fish Health Section Bluebook guidelines. FHL staff can help you determine what testing is required for your facility and conduct disease screening.

If you have questions about fish health testing requirements in Minnesota, contact the FHL and reference the AFS-FHS Bluebook, WOAH Aquatic Manual and Code, and the GLFHC Model Program using the links above.

If you are seeking to import fish into or within the state of Minnesota, use the link above for Fishery Related Permits and follow the instructions on page 2 of the "Live Fish Transportation Importation and Stocking Permit application." Fish Health Certificate documentation can be emailed to the FHL's general email.