United States Department of Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

Plant Protection and Quarantine

Interstate movement of Sea Asparagus tips (Salicornia 

bigelovii) from Hawaii into the Continental United States

Risk Management Document

July 29, 2014

Plant Health Programs (PHP)

Regulations, Permits and Manuals (RPM)

Contact Person: Dave Lamb
Introduction

The Hawaii Department of Agriculture submitted a request to move fresh tips of sea asparagus

(Salicornia biglovii Torr.) interstate from Hawaii into the continental United States in 2013. In

response to this request, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) prepared a pest list as per the Guidelines for Plant Pest 

Risk Assessment of Imported Fruit & Vegetable Commodities (USDA, 2012). 

The pest list, Sea Asparagus Tips, Salicornia spp., from Hawaii Pest List (USDA, 2014) found 

one fungus pest that could follow the pathway of fresh tips of Salicornia spp.: Macrophoma 

phaseolina (Tassi) Goid. This fungus pest is non-actionable in the continental United States.

Standard Industry Practices

In Hawaii, sea asparagus is hydroponically grown in salt water ponds on floating plant cultivation 

platforms (rafts) where the roots are exposed to brackish waters. The shoots or tips of sea 

asparagus do not touch water, soil, or sediments. The product is harvested by hand, sorted 

(culled) for quality, and placed in plastic containers in cold storage prior to shipping (Sun, 2013).

Risk Management Measures

The following risk management measures for sea asparagus must be followed for interstate

movement from Hawaii into the continental United States:

 Sea asparagus tips must be moved interstate as commercial consignments only.

 Each consignment is subject to pre-departure inspection in Hawaii prior to interstate 

movement to the continental United States.

Evidence for the Effective Removal of Pest of Concern from the Pathway

By restricting interstate movement of sea asparagus to commercial consignments only, we will 

ensure that appropriate sanitation, pest management, culling, and packing practices are in place to

prevent the introduction of any pests.

APHIS will inspect the asparagus tips to be moved interstate during pre-departure clearance in 

Hawaii. Inspection ensures that various stages of any pest or disease will be detected. Inspection 

is an effective method for detecting pests and is a primary method of preventing quarantine pests 

from entering the United States (Cavey, 2003; Wittenberg & Cock, 2001). 

Conclusion

Macrophoma phaseolina was the only pest identified as following the pathway of fresh sea 

asparagus tips from Hawaii; however this pest is not actionable if intercepted in the continental 

United States. Inspection is considered effective at finding external feeding pests and excluding 
infested shipments from entering commerce (Cavey, 2003; Wittenberg 7 Cock, 2001). APHIS 

believes that the phytosanitary measures proposed in this document will result in the effective 

removal of any pests associated with the inter-state movement of fresh seas asparagus tips from 

Hawaii into the continental United States. 

Authors

José R. Hernández

Senior Risk Manager

Walter P. Gould

Senior Risk Manager

References:

Cavey, J.F. 2003. Mitigating introduction of invasive plant pests: the APHIS-PPQ Mission. 

From: Chapter 13, pp. 350-361 in Ruiz, G.M and J.T. Carlton. 2003. Invasive species: vectors 

and management strategies. Island Press, Washington, D.C. 518pp.

Sun, W.H. 2013. Pre-requisite Requirements for the Application of Commodity Risk 

Assessment for Importing Sea Asparagus Tips, Salicornia bigelovii from Hawaii to the 

Continental United States. DBA Marine Agrifuture, LLC., Olakai, Hawaii. 11pp.

USDA. 2012. Guidelines for Plant Pest Risk Assessment of Imported Fruit & Vegetable 

Commodities. USDA-APHIS, PPQ. Center for Plant Health Science and Technology, Plant 

Epidemiology and Risk Analysis Laboratory. 143 pp.

USDA. 2014. Sea Asparagus Tips, Salicornia spp., from Hawaii Pest List. USDA, APHIS, 

PPQ, CPHST, PERAL, Raleigh, NC. 2 pp.

Wittenberg, R. and M.J.W. Cock. 2001. Invasive Alien Species: A toolkit of best prevention 

and management practices. CABI publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, Oxon, UK. 228 

pp.