Prawns: White spot disease detected in NSW prawn farm

The viral infection affects crustaceans and can cause major mortalities in farmed prawns, the alert from the NSW Department of Primary (DPI) said.

The outbreak occurred in an enclosed prawn facility and was identified during routine test by the DPI biosecurity team.

NSW minister for agriculture Dugald Saunders said while the disease can have significant ramifications on production, it poses no threat to human health and safety.

"Prawns remain perfectly fine for human consumption, and there are no issues with continuing to purchase them from your local seafood supplier," he said.

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Mr Saunders said as the detection was within an enclosed facility, not outside in free water, the government had "confidence that the protocols in place have contained this detection" and it would not spread further.

DPI officers are working with the owners of the prawn facility to oversee the destruction and disposal of all infected prawns.

"Decontamination activities are also underway to treat the site and stop any further spread," Mr Saunders said.

The state government has had movement restrictions in place to limit the risk of white spot entering NSW, since it was detected in south-east Queensland in 2016.

"DPI is undertaking tracing and surveillance activities to try and identify the source of the white spot and how it got into NSW," he said.

"We have also notified other prawn farms in the area and have reminded them to be diligent with their biosecurity protocols.

"We will continue to work closely with industry to ensure minimal disruption occurs."