Connecticut Administrative Code › Title 26 - Fisheries and Game › 55 - Importation of Fish, Birds and Quadrupeds › Section 26-55-1 - Importation, transportation or liberation of live fish or live fish eggs

Current through July 10, 2024
No person, firm or corporation shall import into this state,
				transport for the purpose of liberation within this state or liberate into the
				waters of this state live fish or live fish eggs except as hereinafter
				provided.
(a) Permits for the
			 importation or liberation of live fish and live fish eggs may be issued at the
			 discretion of the Commissioner.
(b)
			 No permit for the importation or liberation of live fish or live fish eggs
			 shall be issued to cover a period of more than sixty days and a separate
			 application must be made for each importation or liberation of live fish or
			 live fish eggs.
(c) All
			 applications for an importation permit or liberation permit shall include the
			 full name and address of the applicant and the vendor from whom the live fish
			 or live fish eggs will be obtained, the number of each species of live fish or
			 live fish eggs to be imported or liberated, the purpose of such importation or
			 liberation and, if such live fish or live fish eggs are to be liberated, the
			 name and location of the waters where such live fish or live fish eggs are to
			 be liberated.
(d) Any live fish or
			 live fish eggs originating outside of the United States, or originating from
			 west of the United States continental divide, must have originated from a
			 source that has obtained a current fish health certification issued by a person
			 or persons acceptable to the Commissioner and such fish health certification
			 shall accompany the shipment of such live fish or live fish eggs. Any live fish
			 or live fish eggs originating outside of the United States must, in addition,
			 have official clearance in writing, from the United States Fish and Wildlife
			 Service.
(e) Representatives of the
			 Commissioner may inspect any imported fish or fish eggs being brought into the
			 state. The Commissioner may order that any live fish or live fish eggs,
			 suspected of carrying diseases, pathogens or parasites capable of inducing any
			 disease, be quarantined, at permittee's expense, for a period of up to one
			 hundred and twenty days.
(f) Any
			 fish which show evidence of any disease, pathogen or parasite capable of
			 inducing any disease shall be immediately taken to the state fish pathologist
			 for examination and diagnosis. In the event that any disease, pathogen or
			 parasite capable of inducing any disease is determined to be present by said
			 pathologist the Commissioner may in the public interest, order that all
			 imported fish as well as any other fish present in the waters containing such
			 imported fish be destroyed by whatever means he shall determine is the most
			 practical and in the best public interest.
(g) No imported fish or fish eggs shall be
			 liberated or introduced into the waters of the state if they are known to be
			 infected with disease or infected with parasites which, in the opinion of the
			 Commissioner, would make the liberation of such fish inadvisable in the
			 interest of protecting humans, resident fish species or established exotic fish
			 species from disease or parasitism.
(h) No permit shall be required to import
			 live, common aquarium species. The importation or possession of piranha of the
			 subfamily: Serrasalminae, genera Serrasalmus, Serrasalmo, Pygocentrus,
			 Teddyella, Rooseveltiella and Pygopristus, and walking catfish of the family
			 Clariidae, genera Clarias, Heteropneustes, Dinotoplerus and Heterobranchus is
			 prohibited except that the Commissioner may at his discretion issue permits for
			 the importation and possession, when it is in the public interest, for public
			 display purposes, of specimens of piranha and walking catfish. Such possession
			 permits shall be issued for a calendar year and the applicant must request
			 renewal of said permit prior to December thirty-first of the year said permit
			 is in effect. Renewal of said permit shall be at the discretion of the
			 Commissioner. Such permittee shall report annually to the Commissioner during
			 the month of December on the status and health of the specimens for which said
			 permit is issued, except that in the case of death of said specimens the
			 permittee shall report same to the Commissioner within seven days.
(i) The importation, possession or liberation
			 of grass carp or white amur (Ctenopharyngodon idella) is prohibited, except
			 that the Commissioner, at his discretion, may issue a permit for the
			 importation, possession and liberation of triploid (sterile) grass carp into
			 lakes and ponds of this state as herein provided.
(1) Waters into which triploid grass carp are
			 to be liberated may be inspected by an agent of the Commissioner.
(2) The Commissioner shall not issue a permit
			 for the liberation of triploid grass carp into any lake or pond where multiple
			 individuals or entities own the property immediately abutting the lake or pond,
			 unless:
(A) the applicant provides notice to
			 the owners of record of each property immediately abutting the lake or pond by
			 mail to the owner's address on the most recent grand tax list of the
			 municipality in which such properties are located or by personal delivery and
			 receives written agreement to such liberation from such owners; or
(B) at least thirty (30) days prior to the
			 Commissioner issuing the permit:
(i) the
			 Commissioner publishes a notice of the application on the department's web
			 site; and
(ii) the applicant
			 provides a notice of application to the chief executive officer, as described
			 in section
			 7-193
			 of the Connecticut General Statutes, for each municipality in which the lake or
			 pond is located. The notice of application may reference the notice published
			 on the department's website but shall, at a minimum, contain the heading
			 "Notice of Application to Liberate Triploid Grass Carp"; the name of the
			 applicant; the location of the proposed activity by the name of the lake or
			 pond and the municipality or municipalities in which the lake or pond is
			 located; and the address, telephone number and e-mail address of the applicant.
			 In addition to such notice, and prior to issuing any permit for such
			 liberation, the Commissioner may require the applicant to attend a public
			 information meeting conducted by the department regarding the application to be
			 held in any municipality in which the lake or pond is located.
(3) The Commissioner
			 shall not issue a permit for the liberation of triploid grass carp into any
			 waters unless the outlet and inlet of such waters are, in his opinion,
			 adequately screened so as to prevent the emigration of such grass carp or
			 unless such waters are ecologically isolated. For the purposes of this
			 subsection, ecologically isolated means any waters from which, in the opinion
			 of the Commissioner, the emigration of such grass carp will not significantly
			 impact public waters or waters of another, or from which there is no surface
			 water outflow.
(4) Any permit for
			 the liberation of triploid grass carp issued by the Commissioner may prescribe
			 the number and size class of triploid grass carp that may be
			 liberated.
(5) Such fish shall be
			 certified as triploid prior to shipment by a person or persons acceptable to
			 the Commissioner and such certification shall accompany the shipment of such
			 fish.
(6) At least fourteen (14)
			 days prior to importation of such fish, the permittee shall notify the
			 Commissioner of the date that any grass carp are to be imported and the
			 location where such fish may be inspected.
(7) Such fish may be inspected and may be
			 sampled and tested for triploidy by an approved method by an agent of the
			 Commissioner prior to liberation.
(8) Any shipment of grass carp which contains
			 any diploid (fertile) individuals shall be confiscated and disposed of at the
			 discretion of the Commissioner.
(9)
			 The owner of any lake or pond into which grass carp are liberated shall allow
			 agents of the Commissioner to monitor the population dynamics of the grass carp
			 and other environmental conditions of the pond in order to determine the long
			 term efficacy of grass carp in Connecticut waters.
(10) In the event that any grass carp or
			 white amur, that are capable of reproduction, are liberated into or found in
			 any waters of this state, the Commissioner may, in the public interest, order
			 that all such fish as well as any other fish present in such waters be
			 destroyed by whatever means he shall determine to be the most practical and in
			 the best public interest except as provided in section
			 26-55a
			 of the Connecticut General Statutes.