Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 38, September 20, 2024
Pursuant to Section
6450 of
the Fish and Game Code, the department may issue permits to stock triploid
grass carp.
(a) Purpose for Stocking.
This section provides for the introduction of triploid grass carp, solely for
the purpose of managing and controlling nuisance submerged aquatic plants.
Triploid grass carp may only be stocked in waters approved by the
department.
(b) To Whom Issued.
Triploid grass carp stocking permits may be issued to a person, organization,
or agency, to control or eradicate nuisance submerged aquatic plants, only
within those waters under their control.
(1)
Triploid grass carp stocking permits are not transferrable to persons,
organizations, or agencies other than the permittee, except in the event that
ownership of, or legal control over a water body named in the permit is
transferred from the permittee to another person, organization, or agency. In
this event, the permittee shall notify the department in writing within 10
(ten) days of the transaction. In addition, the permittee shall be responsible
for informing the new owner of, or party assuming legal control over that water
body, that triploid grass carp have been stocked therein. For the remaining
term of the existing permit, said permit shall be transferred to the new owner
of, or party assuming legal control over said water body, provided that said
party agrees in writing to comply with the terms and conditions specified in
this section. After expiration of the existing permit, the party assuming
permittee status shall be required to renew the grass carp permit pursuant to
subsection
238.6(e)(3)(B).
(2) Grass carp programs approved by the
department on or before June 1, 1995 shall be exempt from the provisions of
this section. Such programs shall be allowed to continue operations under a
Private Stocking Permit (Form FG 749-(revised 5/93)), provided that the
permittee: furnishes proof that the site had prior approval under a program
approved by the department on or before June 1, 1995.
(c) Limitations.
(1) No permits shall be issued to stock grass
carp in any major drainage or water having an open freshwater connection to
other waters of the state (e.g., streams, rivers, lakes, or
reservoirs).
(2) No permit shall be
issued for grass carp introductions within the 100-year flood plain, as defined
by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or local agency responsible
for flood control, with the following exceptions:
(A) Grass carp introductions may be permitted
within closed basins, including that of the Salton Sea, subject to the
conditions stated in subsections (c)(3) and (4), below.
(B) Along the Colorado River and in basins
where the 100-year flood plain zones have not been defined, permit approval
shall be based upon department evaluations.
(3) For water bodies open to public angling,
or those located within residential-area golf courses, triploid grass carp
introductions shall be limited to those waters which have been determined by
the department to be secure from removal or escape of grass carp.
(4) No permit shall be issued for grass carp
introductions into waters inhabited by plants or animals designated as
threatened, endangered, or species of special concern.
(5) Only those grass carp which have been
reared, held and transported in aquaculture facilities and equipment, inspected
and certified by the department as being free of diseases and parasites may be
stocked under the provisions of this section. In addition, the department
shall:
(A) restrict grass carp introductions
to those grass carp that have been rendered sterile immediately after the eggs
have been fertilized,
(B) require
individual fish to be checked to ensure that a third, triploid, set of
chromosomes has been retained, preventing further reproduction by the
individual fish,
(C) limit aquatic
plant pest control programs using grass carp to the use of sterile triploid
grass carp with documented certification of triploidy to ensure sterility,
and
(D) inspect prospective grass
carp aquaculture rearing facilities, holding facilities and transporters, to
certify that they are free of diseases and parasites, and that they are secure
from the escape of grass carp.
(6) Each triploid grass carp shall be
implanted with serially-numbered tags provided or approved by the
department.
(7) The department may
limit the number and minimum size of triploid grass carp to be stocked in any
proposed water. The number of triploid grass carp stocked may not exceed that
specified on the permit, unless the permittee has obtained a department
approved amendment to said permit.
(8) Security measures acceptable to the
department shall be in place before triploid grass carp may be introduced into
permitted waters. Such devices may include, but are not limited to, the
following: fenced enclosures, locked gates, controlled access, and bird
netting.
(9) Wherever barriers or
screens are required to contain triploid grass carp within a proposed stocking
site, the design for such structures must be approved by the department, and
said structures shall be installed by the applicant prior to issuance of the
Triploid Grass Carp Stocking Permit.
(10) Prior to stocking, permittee shall post
prominent notices at each stocking site declaring the penalties for
unauthorized removal of triploid grass carp.
(11) The permittee shall not place triploid
grass carp in waters other than those specified in the
permit.
(d) Permits.
(1) The term of the permit shall be one
calendar year or remaining portion of the year.
(2) An amendment to change permit conditions
may be issued by the department at any time during the term of the permit upon
written request by the permittee, provided that such changes are consistent
with the provisions of this section.
(3) The permittee shall retain a copy of the
triploid grass carp stocking permit while grass carp are present in the
permitted water. Said permit shall be available for presentation on request of
any department employee.
(4) The
department shall deny an application to stock triploid grass carp in any water
body, if such proposed stocking is inconsistent with the provisions of this
section.
(e) Application
procedure. Applications shall be submitted on a form (Application for Triploid
Grass Carp Stocking Permit for Aquatic Plant Management, FG 749-TGC (12/96),
which is incorporated by reference herein) supplied by the department and may
be filed with the department at any time. All applications shall be sent to the
address indicated on the form and shall be submitted with appropriate
application and inspection fees (see subsection (b)(3) below).
(1) Application Requirements. The applicant
shall provide the following information, when requesting said permit, as well
as when renewing an existing permit:
(A) Name,
address, and affiliation of applicant.
(B) Location of the proposed stocking
site.
(C) Number and type of water
bodies to be stocked, and their sizes, in acres, or in square feet for waters
less than one acre.
(D) Source of
water supply and locations of water outlets, if applicable.
(E) A description of aquatic plant management
problems, including but not limited to:
1.
Type(s) of aquatic vegetation present, relative abundance of each, expressed as
percentage of surface coverage, at the peak of the growing season.
2. Desired vegetation quantity or
coverage.
(F) Number of
triploid grass carp requested.
(G)
Existing water quality data for the proposed water, if any.
(2) Inspection.
(A) Initial Inspection of Proposed Waters.
All waters proposed for triploid grass carp stocking shall be subject to
inspection by the department, to verify stocking is consistent with the
provisions and limitations of this section, and to determine the number of
triploid grass carp to stock.
(B)
Periodic Follow-Up Inspections. All waters stocked with triploid grass carp
shall be subject to inspection by department employees.
(3) Fees. The application and inspection fees
shall be paid to the department at the time the Triploid Grass Carp Stocking
Permit application is filed.
(A) Pursuant to
Section
6454 of
the Fish and Game Code, the department shall charge the following fees to
defray costs incurred in the initiation and implementation of the Triploid
Grass Carp Program:
1. Stocking fee:
$15.00/fish, and
2. Annual renewal
fee: $7.50/fish
NOTE: The stocking fee will be assessed upon initial
stocking and at any subsequent time that additional fish are added. Renewal
fees are based on the number of fish remaining in the pond. The renewal fee is
based on the presumption that no fish have been removed from the pond unless
the permittee can provide proof acceptable to the department that fish have
died or have been removed from the pond.
(B) All permits expire on December 31.
Permits must be renewed by March 1 of the following year. If permit renewal
fees are not received by the department on or before March 1, the department
may eradicate all grass carp present in ponds for which permits have
lapsed.
(f)
Annual Reports.
(1) On or before March 1 of
each year following the first year after triploid grass carp have been stocked,
all permittees shall submit to the department a report documenting the progress
of the aquatic vegetation control program in the permitted water. This report
shall be submitted on a form furnished by the department (Triploid Grass Carp
Stocking Permit Annual Report Form (FG 749-Rep (12/96)), which is incorporated
by reference herein.
(2) Pursuant
to Fish and Game Code subsection 6453(b), the permittee shall continue to
submit annual reports until five years after the use of grass carp to control
aquatic plant pests is terminated, unless acceptable evidence is provided to
the department that all grass carp have been removed from the water.
(3) Permit amendments to stock triploid grass
carp in excess of the number specified in the original permit shall be denied
if the permittee fails to submit such reports.
(g) No live triploid grass carp shall leave
the permittee's waters without advance approval in writing from the
department.
(h) Permit Revocation.
(1) The department may revoke a Triploid
Grass Carp Stocking Permit at any time upon its determination that the
permittee has not complied with the terms and conditions of the permit, or if
grass carp are used in any manner that is inconsistent with the provisions of
this section.
(2) Upon revocation
of the permit, all grass carp possessed under the privileges of the permit may
be seized by the department for disposition deemed appropriate by the
department.
1. New
section filed 5-5-97; operative 6-4-97 (Register 97, No. 19).
2.
Amendment of section and NOTE filed 4-24-2001; operative 5-24-2001 (Register
2001, No. 17).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
6450,
6454
and
6459,
Fish and Game Code. Reference: Sections
6450-
6460,
Fish and Game Code.