Title of Regulation: 4VAC20-1250. Pertaining to the Tagging of Shellfish (amending 4VAC20-1250-10, 4VAC20-1250-20, 4VAC20-1250-30; adding 4VAC20-1250-50).

Statutory Authority: §§ 28.2-201 and 28.2-801 of the Code of Virginia.

Effective Date: May 31, 2012.

Agency Contact: Jane Warren, Agency Regulatory Coordinator, Marine Resources Commission, 2600 Washington Avenue, 3rd Floor, Newport News, VA 23607, telephone (757) 247-2248, FAX (757) 247-2002, or email betty.warren@mrc.virginia.gov.

Summary:

The amendments (i) require shellfish to be tagged during transport from the harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to the certified dealer, and the tags must indicate the time the harvest began and the time the shellfish are offloaded and placed under temperature control; (ii) set the minimum specifications for single harvest areas; and (iii) establish a green restricted-use shellstock tag for shucker-packers operations.

4VAC20-1250-10. Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to establish a method of identifying harvested shellfish, according to its original Virginia harvest area, at any time of the year.

4VAC20-1250-20. Definitions.

The following words and terms when used in this chapter shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Bulk shellfish tag" means a shellfish tag that shall only be used for shellfish harvested from a single harvest area in any one day and accompanies a conveyance containing multiple containers of shellfish.

"Certified dealer" means a person to whom certification is issued by the Virginia Department of Health for the purposes of introducing shellfish into commerce.

"Certified dealer tag" means a shellfish tag, which is approved by the Virginia Department of Health, Division of Shellfish Sanitation, that shall only be used for shellfish harvested from a single harvest area, in any one day, and those shellfish are either loose in a conveyance or in a single container.

"Container" means any bag, box, sack, tote, or conveyance, such as a boat or truck, or other receptacle that contains shellfish to be held or transported, in any type of conveyance, for transport from the harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to the point of sale or other use.

"Conveyance" means any form of transport, either mechanical, such as a boat or truck, or nonmechanical that is used to transport shellfish from the harvest area to the landing site or from the landing site to a certified dealer or other use.

"Direct marketing" means any shellfish or shellstock that is landed and sold without any post-harvest processing.

"Harvest" means the act of removing any shellfish or shellstock from a designated harvest area and placing that shellfish or shellstock in a container or on or in a man-made conveyance or other means of transport.

"Land" or "landing" means to (i) enter port with finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, or other marine seafood on board any boat or vessel; (ii) begin offloading finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, or other marine seafood; or (iii) offload finfish, shellfish, crustaceans, or other marine seafood.

"Oysters" mean those oysters 2-1/2 inches or greater in shell length.

"Restricted-use shellstock" means shellstock or shellfish harvested from approved shellfish growing areas that shall not be sold for direct marketing or raw consumption.

"Restricted-use shellstock tag" means a Virginia Marine Resources Commission-issued green tag that shall only be used by a certified dealer who has a current certificate of inspection as a shucker packer for shellstock or shellfish harvested from a single harvest area in any one day. Use of any such tag indicates that shellstock is intended for further processing prior to distribution to retail or food service.

"Shellfish" or "shellstock" means all species of bivalve molluscan shellfish.

"Single harvest area" means one of the water areas established by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission for reporting fisheries statistics.

"Shellfish harvester tag" means a shellfish tag that shall only be used for shellfish harvested from a single harvest area, in any one day, and those shellfish are either loose in a conveyance or in a single container.

"Shucker packer" means a person who shucks and packs shellfish under a certificate of inspection issued by the Virginia Department of Health, Division of Shellfish Sanitation.

"Temperature control" means the use of ice or mechanical refrigeration, which is capable of lowering the temperature of the shellstock and maintaining it at 50°F (10°C) or less, as approved by the Virginia Department of Health, Division of Shellfish Sanitation.

4VAC20-1250-30. Shellfish identification.

A. Any person harvesting shellfish for commercial purposes shall affix a shellfish harvester tag to each container of shellfish as soon as possible after, except as provided in subsection E of this section, before leaving any single harvest area but before harvesting shellfish from another harvest area or offloading the shellfish. The shellfish harvester tag shall remain in place while the shellfish are transported from the harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to a certified dealer and shall or for any other use. Any transport of shellfish to a certified dealer requires that the shellfish harvester tag remain affixed to each container of shellfish until the container is emptied or shipped and re-tagged by a certified dealer. For any quantities of harvested shellfish sold in bulk that are loose and not containerized aboard a boat, the harvester shall prepare a single tag, for that quantity of shellfish, which shall accompany that quantity of shellfish during transport from the landing site to the dealer facilities.

B. The shellfish harvester tag, the bulk shellfish tag, and the green restricted-use shellstock tag shall be durable, waterproof, and approved by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) or the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) prior to use, and shall be at least 13.8 square inches in size.

C. The shellfish harvester tag shall contain all of the following indelible and legible information, in the following order:

1. The harvester's VMRC Virginia Marine Resources Commission identification number (last four digits) or VMRC Virginia Marine Resources Commission oyster aquaculture harvester permit number or clam aquaculture harvester permit number or VDH Certificate of Inspection number;

2. The date of harvest, time that any shellfish harvest began, and time that harvested shellfish were offloaded and placed under temperature control;

3. An acknowledgement of whether or not those shellfish, described in subdivision 2 of this subsection, were placed in a Virginia Department of Health, Division of Shellfish Sanitation-approved storage container with a layer of ice that continuously and completely covered the oysters;

3. 4. The most accurate identification of the harvest location or aquaculture site, including the abbreviated name of the state of harvest and the commission's Virginia Marine Resources Commission's designation of the growing area by indexing, administrative, or geographic designation, and the minimum identification requirement shall be to specify a single harvest area from the listing, as described in 4VAC20-1250-50;

4. 5. The type and quantity of harvested shellfish; and

5. 6. The following statement, in bold capitalized letters: "THIS TAG IS REQUIRED TO BE ATTACHED, UNTIL THE CONTAINER IS EMPTY OR IS RE-TAGGED, AND THEREAFTER KEPT ON FILE FOR 90 DAYS."

D. For any quantities of shellfish commercially harvested from a single harvest area, in any one day, that are loose and not containerized aboard any conveyance, the harvester shall prepare a shellfish harvester tag for that quantity of shellfish, which shall accompany that quantity of shellfish during transport from the single harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to a certified dealer, or for any other use.

D. E. When multiple containers of shellfish are harvested from a single harvest area, in any one day, and placed in a bulk container any conveyance, the lot may be tagged with a single bulk shellfish tag that, for that quantity of shellfish, which shall accompany the that quantity of shellfish during transport from the harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to the a certified dealer facility, or for any other use. In addition to the information required in subsection C of this section, the any bulk shellfish tag shall also include:

1. The following statement in bold capitalized letters: "ALL SHELLFISH CONTAINERS IN THIS LOT HAVE THE SAME HARVEST DATE AND ARE FROM A SINGLE AREA OF HARVEST"; and

2. The number of individual containers in the lot.

E. Whenever any shellfish are harvested, whether loose, in bulk, or in containers, and are not tagged as required by subsection C of this section, this shall constitute a violation of this chapter, and the entire quantity of untagged shellfish shall be subject to seizure and disposed of in accordance with 4VAC20-1250-40.

F. Certified shucker packers shall use a green restricted-use shellstock tag for the harvest of restricted-use shellstock from a single harvest area in any one day. The restricted-use shellstock tag shall accompany that quantity of shellfish during transport from the harvest area to the landing site and from the landing site to the certified shucker packer. In addition to the information required in subsection C of this section, any restricted-use shellstock tag shall also include:

1. The certified shucker packer name and address; the Virginia Department of Health, Division of Shellfish and Sanitation certification number; and the following statement in bold capitalized letters: "FOR SHUCKING BY A CERTIFIED DEALER OR POST HARVEST PROCESSING ONLY"; and

2. The quantity of restricted-use shellstock in the lot.

G. Certified dealers may use their certified dealer tag in place of a shellfish harvester tag as provided in subsection A of this section, except as provided in subsection F of this section.

4VAC20-1250-50. Designated single harvest areas.

A listing of water area names for use by harvesters to designate harvest areas.

Back Bay	Mobjack Bay
Back River	Nansemond River
Bogue Bay	Nomini River
Bradford Bay	North River
Burton's Bay	North Landing River
Chesapeake Bay Lower East	Outlet Bay
Chesapeake Bay Lower West	Oyster Bay Seaside Eastern Shore
Chesapeake Bay Upper East	Pagan River
Chesapeake Bay Upper West	Pamunkey River
Chickahominy River	Piankatank River
Chincoteague Bay	Pocomoke River
Chuckatuck Creek	Pocomoke Sound
Coan River	Poquoson River
Cobb Bay Seaside Eastern Shore	Potomac Creek
Corrotoman River	Rappahannock River Middle
Currioman River	Rappahannock River Lower
East River	Rappahannock River Upper
Elizabeth River	Rosier Creek
Fleets Bay	Severn Creek
Gargathy Bay	South Bay
Great Wicomico River	Swash Bay
Hog Island Bay	Tangier Sound
Horn Harbor	Upper Machodoc Creek
James River Middle	Upshur Bay
James River Lower	Ware River
James River Upper	Warwick River
Kegotank Bay	Watts Bay
Lafayette River	Willoughby Bay
Little Wicomico River	Winter Harbor
Lower Machodoc Creek	Yeocomico River
Lynnhaven Bay	York River Middle
Magothy Bay	York River Lower
Mattaponi River	York River Upper
Mattox Creek	Ocean Eastern Shore
Metomkin Bay	Ocean Virginia Beach
Milford Haven