S.L. 437.95 Art. 3Definitions.

(1) For the purposes of these rules, the following definitions shall apply:

"the Act" means the Veterinary Services Act;

"aquaculture" means the rearing or cultivation of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans, other invertebrates and aquatic plants, using techniques designed to increase the production of those organisms beyond the natural capacity of the environment and where the organisms remain the property of one or more natural or legal persons throughout the rearing or culture stages, up to and including harvesting; "aquaculture animal" means any aquatic animal at all its lifestages, including eggs and sperm or gametes, reared in a farm or mollusc farming area, including any aquatic animal from the wild intended for a farm or mollusc farming area; "aquaculture production business" means any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether public or private, carrying out any of the activities related to the rearing, keeping or cultivation of aquaculture animals;

"aquaculture production business operator" means any natural or legal person responsible for ensuring that the requirements of these rules are met within the aquaculture production business under their control; "aquatic animal" means:

(a) fish belonging to the superclass Agnatha and to the classes Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes;

(b) mollusc belonging to the Phylum Mollusca;

(c) crustacean belonging to the Subphylum Crustacea; "authorised processing establishment" means any food business approved in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No. 853/ 2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific hygiene rules for food of animal origin, for processing aquaculture animals for food purposes, and authorised in accordance with rules 4 and 5 hereof; "authorised processing establishment operator" means any natural or legal person responsible for ensuring that the requirements of these rules are met within the authorized processing establishment under their control; "the Commission" means the European Commission established by the Treaty on the European Union as amended by the Lisbon Treaty of 2009, subject to subsequent amendments; "the department" means the department of veterinary services in Malta as established by article 2 of the Act; "EFTA Member States" means states which are members of the European Free Trade Association; "farm" means any premises, enclosed area, or installation operated by an aquaculture production business in which aquaculture animals are reared with a view to their being placed on the market, with the exception of those where wild aquatic animals harvested or caught for the purpose of human consumption are temporarily kept awaiting slaughter without being fed; "farming" means the rearing of aquaculture animals in a farm or in a mollusc farming area; "Member State" means a state which is a member of the European Union; "mollusc farming area" means a production area or relaying area in which all aquaculture production businesses operate under a common biosecurity system;

"ornamental aquatic animal" means an aquatic animal which is kept, reared, or placed on the market for ornamental purposes only; "placing on the market" means the sale, including offering for sale or any other form of transfer, whether free of charge or not, and any form of movement of aquaculture animals; "production area" means any freshwater, sea, estuarine, continental or lagoon area containing natural beds of molluscs or sites used for the cultivation of molluscs, and from which molluscs are taken; "put and take fisheries" means ponds or other installations where the population is maintained only for recreational fishing by restocking with aquaculture animals; "relaying area" means any freshwater, sea, estuarine or lagoon area with boundaries clearly marked and indicated by buoys, posts or any other fixed means, and used exclusively for the natural purification of live molluscs; "Standing Committee on the Food Chain and Animal Health" or "the Committee" means a Committee made up of the representatives of Member States named committee members, who assist and consult the Commission by delivering an Opinion regarding safety measures with respect to animal health issues to be then formally adopted by the Commission in accordance with the appropriate procedure. Such committee procedure covers the entire food supply chain, ranging from animal health issues on the farm to the product which arrives to the final consumer, therefore significantly enhancing its ability to target risks to health wherever they arise in the production of food; "wild aquatic animal" means an aquatic animal which is not an aquaculture animal.

(2) For the purposes of these rules, the following definitions shall also apply:

(a) the technical definitions laid down in Schedule I;

(b) as appropriate, the definitions laid down respectively in:

(i) Articles 2 and 3 of Regulation (EC) No. 178/ 2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety;

(ii) Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004;

(iii) Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004;

(iv) Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004. CHAPTER II Aquaculture Production Businesses and Authorised Processing Establishments