Date of Adoption: February 8, 2002.

     Purpose: Amend aquaculture disease control rules.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-77-020 and 220-77-040.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047.

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 02-02-058 on December 27, 2001.

     Changes Other than Editing from Proposed to Adopted Version: WAC 220-77-020(21) after "held for" and "conclusion of the" added "public display or" before "research."

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
     Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

February 20, 2002

Debbie Nelson

for Russ Cahill, Chair

Fish and Wildlife Commission

OTS-5449.2

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 01-281, filed 12/21/01, effective 1/21/02)

WAC 220-77-020   Definitions -- Aquaculture disease control.   For purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

     (1) "Aquaculture products" are defined as private sector cultured aquatic products propagated, farmed, or cultivated on aquatic farms under the supervision and management of an aquatic farmer, or such products naturally set on lands under the active supervision and management of an aquatic farmer.

     (2) "Disease" is defined as infection, contagious disease, parasite, or pest, occurring on or within the aquaculture product, or other shellfish or finfish, or on or within the water or substrate associated with the aquaculture product, shellfish, or finfish, or an occurrence of significant mortality suspected of being of an infectious or contagious nature.

     (3) "Finfish" is defined as live fish, fish eggs, or fish gametes, but not to include aquaria species commonly sold in the pet store trade when raised in containers that do not discharge to the water[s] of the state, indigenous marine baitfish, or mosquito fish.

     (4) "Shellfish" is defined as all aquatic invertebrates except insects.

     (5) "Epizootic" is defined as the occurrence of a specific disease which can be detected in fifty percent of the mortality or moribund individual fish in an affected container or shellfish on an affected bed or within an affected population, and which results in an average daily mortality of at least one-half of one percent of the affected individual fish for five or more days in any thirty-day period.

     (6) "Marine plant" is defined as nonvascular plants belonging to the phlya Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, or Rhodophyta and vascular plants belonging to the family Zosteraceae when growing in marine or estuarine waters, and includes the seeds, spores, or any life-history phase of the plants.

     (7) "Working day" is defined as any day other than Saturday, Sunday, or a Washington state holiday.

     (8) "Department" is defined as the department of fish and wildlife.

     (9) "Quarantine" is defined as isolation of the organism in a department approved facility.

     (10) "Pest" is defined as parasite, parasitoid, predator, or fouling agent.

     (11) "Established species" is defined as a species that has been propagated through aquaculture for at least ten years in Washington, or a species naturally reproducing within Washington.

     (12) "West coast commerce region" is defined as the states of Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington and the province of British Columbia.

     (13) "Kelp" is defined as any species of brown algae of the order Laminariales.

     (14) "Class A shellfish disease" is defined as an infectious disease which can cause significant mortality or loss of condition or quality in affected shellfish.

     (15) "Class B shellfish disease" is defined as an infectious disease which is not known to cause significant mortality or loss of condition or quality in affected shellfish.

     (16) "Market ready shellfish" are defined as aquatic invertebrate species which are intended for immediate human consumption and will not be placed into or come in contact with state waters.

     (17) "Authorized finfish inspector" shall be defined as the individual who conducts or supervises testing in an authorized laboratory and attests to the results obtained. This individual signs/cosigns inspection and diagnostic reports and health certificates. The director shall maintain and provide upon request a roster of authorized finfish inspectors. An authorized finfish inspector shall be currently recognized by one of the following entities: The American Fisheries Society, Fish Health Section (either as Fish Health Inspector or Fish Pathologist); United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Title 50 Inspector; Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Fish Health Official or Inspector; Supervising veterinarian in a laboratory accredited by the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD).

     (18) "Laboratory inspection report" is defined as the written results of testing conducted by an authorized finfish inspector.

     (19) "Lot of fish" shall be defined as a group of fish of the same species and age that originated from the same spawning stock and share a common water supply.

     (20) "Regulated finfish pathogens" are defined as the following pathogens which, upon initial detection within Washington state, or detection from a site within Washington state that has been pathogen-free for three or more years, require notification within one working day to the fish health unit of the department, who will, in turn, notify the state veterinarian of the detection:

     (a) Viruses:

     (i) Infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus;

     (ii) Infectious pancreatic necrosis virus;

     (iii) Viral hemorrhagic septicemia virus;

     (iv) Oncorhynchus masou virus; and

     (v) Infectious salmon anemia virus.

     (b) Parasite: Myxobolus cerebralis.

     (21) "Terminal quarantine facility" is defined as a department-approved quarantine facility where imported aquatic invertebrates are held for public display or research purposes only, with minimal risk that the organisms will be released or that untreated quarantine facility holding waters will commingle with state waters. The operation plan of the quarantine facility must be approved by the department prior to the introduction of any organisms. At the conclusion of the public display or research, the organisms held in quarantine shall be destroyed and all waters and waste disinfected and disposed of using methods approved by the department.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. 02-02-013 (Order 01-281), § 220-77-020, filed 12/21/01, effective 1/21/02. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 97-08-078 (Order 97-56), § 220-77-020, filed 4/2/97, effective 5/3/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.58.010. 87-08-033 (Order 87-20), § 220-77-020, filed 3/27/87.]

     Reviser's note: The brackets and enclosed material in the text of the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.

OTS-5393.1

AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 97-56, filed 4/2/97, effective 5/3/97)

WAC 220-77-040   Shellfish aquaculture disease control.   (1) It is unlawful for any person to import into Washington or possess live imported aquatic invertebrates, except market ready shellfish, without first obtaining an aquatic invertebrate import permit issued by the department. A copy of the permit shall accompany the aquatic invertebrates at all times within the state of Washington, and must be presented upon request to department employees.

     (2) The director shall appoint a seven-member advisory committee consisting of one representative each from the department, the department of agriculture, the aquatic farmers of Washington, the federally recognized treaty tribes, private displayers of aquatic invertebrates, aquatic invertebrate ecologists, and aquatic invertebrate disease control specialists. The committee will advise the department on importation of aquatic invertebrates, make recommendations on classification of shellfish diseases, and review department policy. Recommendations of the committee are not binding on the commission or director.

     (3) Established species from existing import areas with current disease free tissue certification from areas of origin free of Class A shellfish diseases are eligible for continued importation.

     (a) An additional disease free tissue certification must be submitted every three years. The department will waive the certification requirement if there is sufficient information that the source area is free of Class A shellfish diseases.

     (b) Additional disease free certification may be required upon discovery or reports of disease at the geographic source.

     (4) Established species from new areas of origin are eligible for import if health history documentation and disease free tissue certification are provided to the department. Import into quarantine is required for imports originating from outside the west coast commerce region.

     (a) Conditional importation approval will be initiated by permit application.

     (b) Presence of any Class A shellfish disease in the area of origin will result in denial of conditional approval.

     (c) At least one additional disease free certification will be required during the first year of importation. In the absence of disease during the first year of importation, established species will be eligible for continued importation, and the provisions of subsection (3) of this section will apply.

     (5) Nonestablished species for which a health history documentation and disease free tissue certification have been initiated by permit application are eligible for importation only into quarantine.

     A SEPA check list is required for any importation of a new species.

     (6) Health history documentation will be based on available documentation over the five years prior to application for an import permit, unless a longer documentation is required for cause, and is required to be provided by the applicant. Disease free tissue certification is required from representative invertebrates proposed for import, and must be certified by a department-approved invertebrate health care professional. Disease-free tissue certification may be waived for aquatic invertebrate species placed into a terminal quarantine facility upon approval of an aquatic invertebrate import permit application.

     (7) Department employees may inspect quarantine facilities used for permitted shellfish imports at reasonable times without prior notification.

     (8) Importers are required to immediately report to the department any epizootic, significant mortality potentially attributable to an infectious disease or discovery of a Class A shellfish disease in an approved source area. The report is required to be made within 24 hours of the event or discovery. Annual reporting of the presence or absence of Class A or Class B shellfish diseases may be a condition of any permit.

     (9) Violation of these rules or the conditions of the permit, confirmation of a Class A shellfish disease at the geographic source, or verification of a substantial shellfish mortality at the geographic source may result in the suspension or revocation of the import permit.

     In the event of denial, suspension, or revocation of an import permit, the affected party may appeal through the Administrative Procedure Act. A suspended or revoked permit will remain suspended or revoked during the appeal process.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 97-08-078 (Order 97-56), § 220-77-040, filed 4/2/97, effective 5/3/97. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.58.010. 87-08-033 (Order 87-20), § 220-77-040, filed 3/27/87.]

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