Section 622.106 - Aquaculture operations(a)Operational requirements and restrictions. An owner or operator of an aquaculture facility for which a Gulf aquaculture permit has been issued must comply with the following operational requirements and restrictions.(1)Minimum start-up requirement. At least 25 percent of aquaculture systems approved for use at a specific aquaculture facility at the time of permit issuance must be placed in the water at the permitted aquaculture site within 2 years of issuance of the Gulf aquaculture permit, and allowable species for aquaculture must be placed in the aquaculture system(s) within 3 years of issuance of the permit. Failure to comply with these requirements will be grounds for revocation of the permit. A permittee may request a 1-year extension to the above time schedules in the event of a catastrophe (e.g., hurricane). Requests must be made in writing and submitted to the RA. The RA will approve or deny the request after determining if catastrophic conditions directly caused or significantly contributed to the permittee's failure to meet the required time schedules. The RA will provide the determination and the basis for it, in writing, to the permittee.(2)Marking requirement. The permittee must maintain a minimum of one properly functioning electronic locating device (e.g., GPS device, pinger with radio signal) on each approved aquaculture system placed in the water at the aquaculture facility.(3)Restriction on allowable hatcheries. A permittee may only obtain juvenile animals for grow-out at an aquaculture facility from a hatchery located in the U.S.(4)Hatchery certifications.(i) The permittee must obtain and submit to NMFS a signed certification from the owner(s) of the hatchery, from which fingerlings or other juvenile animals are obtained, indicating the broodstock have been individually marked or tagged (e.g., via a Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT), coded wire, dart, or internal anchor tag) to allow for identification of those individuals used in spawning.(ii) The permittee also must obtain and submit to NMFS signed certification from the owner(s) of the hatchery indicating that fin clips or other genetic materials were collected and submitted for each individual brood animal in accordance with procedures specified by NMFS.(iii) The certifications required in paragraphs (a)(4)(i) and (ii) of this section must be provided to NMFS by the permittee each time broodstock are acquired by the hatchery or used for spawning.(5)Health certification. Prior to stocking fish in an approved aquaculture system at an aquaculture facility in the Gulf EEZ, the permittee must provide NMFS a copy of a health certificate (suggested form is USDA/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) VS 17-141, OMB 0579-0278) signed by an aquatic animal health expert, as defined in § 622.101(a)(2)(xv) , certifying that the fish have been inspected and are visibly healthy and the source population is test negative for OIE pathogens specific to the cultured species and pathogens identified as reportable pathogens in the NAAHP as implemented by the USDA and U.S. Departments of Commerce and Interior.(6)Use of drugs and other chemicals or agents. Use of drugs, pesticides, and biologics must comply with all applicable Food and Drug Administration (FDA), EPA, and USDA requirements (e.g., Federal, Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.; Clean Water Act, 40 CFR part 122 ; 9 CFR parts 101 through 124; 21 CFR parts 500 through 599; and 40 CFR parts 150 through 189).(7)Feed practices and monitoring. The permittee must conduct feed monitoring and management practices in compliance with EPA regulations at 40 CFR 451.21 , if applicable to the facility.(8)Monitoring and reporting compliance. The permittee must monitor and report the environmental survey parameters at the aquaculture facility consistent with NMFS' guidelines that will be available on the Web site and from the RA upon request. The permittee also must comply with all applicable monitoring and reporting requirements specified in their valid ACOE Section 10 permit and valid EPA NPDES permit.(9)Inspection for protected species. The permittee must regularly inspect approved aquaculture systems, including mooring and anchor lines, for entanglements or interactions with marine mammals, protected species, and migratory birds. The frequency of inspections will be specified by NMFS as a condition of the permit. If entanglements or interactions are observed, they must be reported as specified in § 622.102(a)(1)(i)(G) .(10)Fishing gear stowage requirement. Any vessel transporting cultured animals to or from an aquaculture facility must stow fishing gear as follows: (i) A longline may be left on the drum if all gangions and hooks are disconnected and stowed below deck. Hooks cannot be baited. All buoys must be disconnected from the gear; however, buoys may remain on deck.(ii) A trawl net may remain on deck, but trawl doors must be disconnected from the trawl gear and must be secured.(iii) A gillnet must be left on the drum. Any additional gillnets not attached to the drum must be stowed below deck.(iv) A rod and reel must be removed from the rod holder and stowed securely on or below deck. Terminal gear (i.e., hook, leader, sinker, flasher, or bait) must be disconnected and stowed separately from the rod and reel. Sinkers must be disconnected from the down rigger and stowed separately.(v) All other fishing gear must be stored below deck or in an area where it is not normally used or readily available for fishing.(11)Prohibition of possession of wild fish in restricted access zone. Except for broodstock, authorized pursuant to paragraph (a)(16) of this section, possession of any wild fish at or within the boundaries of an aquaculture facility's restricted access zone is prohibited.(12)Prohibition of possession of wild fish aboard vessels, vehicles, or aircraft associated with aquaculture operations. Possession and transport of any wild fish aboard an aquaculture operation's transport or service vessels, vehicles, or aircraft is prohibited while engaged in aquaculture related activities, except when harvesting broodstock as authorized by NMFS.(13)Maintaining fish intact prior to landing. Cultured finfish must be maintained whole with heads and fins intact until landed on shore. Such fish may be eviscerated, gilled, and scaled, but must otherwise be maintained in a whole condition. Spiny lobster must be maintained whole with the tail intact until landed on shore.(14)Restriction on offloading. For the purpose of this paragraph, offload means to remove cultured animals from a vessel following harvest from an offshore aquaculture facility. Cultured animals may only be offloaded between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m., local time.(15)Bill of lading requirement. Any cultured animals harvested from an aquaculture facility and being transported must be accompanied by the applicable bill of lading through landing ashore and the first point of sale. The bill of lading must include species name, quantity in numbers or pounds by species, date and location of landing, Gulf aquaculture permit number of the aquaculture facility from which the fish were harvested, and name and address of purchaser.(16)Request to harvest broodstock.(i) At least 30 days prior to each time a permittee or their designee intends to harvest broodstock from the Gulf, including from state waters, that would be used to produce juvenile fish for an aquaculture facility in the Gulf EEZ, the permittee must submit a request to the RA via the Web site using a Web-based form. The information submitted on the form must include the number, species, and size of fish to be harvested; methods, gear, and vessels (including USCG documentation or state registration number) to be used for capturing, holding, and transporting broodstock; date and specific location of intended harvest; and the location to which broodstock would be delivered.(ii) Allowable methods or gear used for broodstock capture in the EEZ include those identified for each respective fishery in § 600.725 , except red drum, which may be harvested only with handline or rod and reel.(iii) The RA may deny or modify a request for broodstock harvest if allowable methods or gear are not proposed for use, the number of fish harvested for broodstock is more than necessary for purposes of spawning and rearing activities, or the harvest will be inconsistent with FMP objectives or other Federal laws. If a broodstock collection request is denied or modified, the RA will provide the determination and the basis for it, in writing to the permittee. If a broodstock collection request is approved, the permittee must submit a report to the RA including the number and species of broodstock harvested, their size (length and weight), and the geographic location where the broodstock were captured. The report must be submitted on a Web-based form available on the Web site no later than 15 days after the date of harvest.(iv) Notwithstanding the requirements in § 622.106(a)(16) , all proposed harvest of broodstock from state waters also must comply with all state laws applicable to the harvest of such species.(17)Authorized access to aquaculture facilities. A permittee must provide NMFS employees and authorized officers access to an aquaculture facility to conduct inspections or sampling necessary to determine compliance with the applicable regulations relating to aquaculture in the Gulf EEZ. In conducting the inspections, NMFS may enter into cooperative agreements with States, may delegate the inspection authority to any State, or may contract with any non-Federal Government entities. As a condition of the permit, NMFS may also require the permittee to contract a non-Federal Government third party approved by the RA if the RA agrees to accept the third party inspection results. The non-Federal Government third party may not be the same entity as the permittee.