• Development and maintenance of a statewide disease history database for use in disease tracking and management decisions.
  
  
• Conduct and coordinate aquatic invasive species investigations, monitoring and prevention.
  
  
• Provide contingency planning and rapid response to invasion by ANS Track developing fish disease threats.

• More than 80 annual inspections of fish in aquaculture facilities or watersheds for the presence of pathogens.  Per state regulations, these inspections are required prior to movement of fish from one site to another. Whirling Disease is one of the things AAHL tests for.
  
  
• Investigation and diagnosis of 300-350 disease cases annually in cultured or free-ranging public and private fish populations caused by pathogenic organisms, nutrition and/or environmental conditions.
  
  
• Conduct quarterly fish quality examinations on production lots of salmonid fishes at eleven state fish hatcheries and rearing units and compile and compare results.
  
  
• Development and implementation of fish health assessment for free-ranging fish throughout the state.
  
  
• Provide support services for aquaculture research conducted in the state by Division of Wildlife aquatic biologists, university researchers, private entities and other government agencies.
  
  
• Association with other fish diagnostic facilities such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Bozeman Fish Health Center, the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory, Auburn University/USDA Fish Health Laboratory, Pisces Molecular, the Fish Health Branch of the USGS Leetown Science Center, University of California, Davis and others.
  

• Conduct and advise public education and training in areas of prevention of spread of disease and areas of aquatic nuisance species.
  
  
• Administer aquaculture projects and participate in enrichment days at Colorado’s public schools.
  
  

If you are interested in teaching students about fish and aquaculture, participate in the CDOW Volunteer Program.

• Maintain compliance with federal laws applying to the use of drug therapies in fish, notification of reportable diseases, compliance with the Lacey Act, National Aquaculture Act and other federal requirements.
  
  
• Administer stocking regulations and importation of aquatic organisms.
  
  
• Review and approve Colorado Department of Agriculture aquaculture permits.
  
  
• Quarantine and disinfection of disease-contaminated facilities and advise on facility design or redesign to prevent recontamination.
  
  
• Advising the Fish Health Board and Wildlife Commission concerning development of regulations to protect state fisheries.