Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 51 - PUBLIC HEALTH-SANITARY CODE › Part IX - Marine and Fresh Water Animal Food Products › Chapter 1 - Shellfish Growing Areas › Section IX-145 - Permit Required for Relaying [formerly paragraph 9:004-2]

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Permits are required prior to performing
				any relaying at the discretion of the Department of Health, Office of Public
				Health under the following restrictions.
1. No
				permittee or boat captain may serve on any vessel subject to this permit who
				has been cited or found guilty of violations relative to the harvesting of
				shellfish within three years of the application date; provided, however that
				said permittee or boat captain may receive a waiver of this condition with
				regard to those citations which did not result in a conviction upon the
				appropriate showing being made to the Department of Wildlife and
				Fisheries.
2. Should environmental
				conditions in the growing area used for relay exceed the limits of
				classification of the growing area, the relay area shall be closed along with
				all other affected growing area. The minimum 14-day treatment time shall only
				be during the time that relay area is characterized by water temperatures and
				salinity units that are within critical limits.
3. Shellfish harvested for relaying purposes
				from restricted waters shall not be laid down within 500 feet of any adjoining
				lease where shellfish may be taken for sale as food during the active period of
				the relay permit.
4. Sacking of
				shellfish, storage of empty shellfish sacks on board permitted or authorized
				relaying vessels and/or the direct marketing of shellfish taken from waters not
				approved for that purpose by the state health officer shall be strictly
				prohibited.
5. Culling of shellfish
				shall be permitted only when container relaying is practiced and written
				authorization is obtained from the Department of Health a.
6. Only two leases in the restricted area and
				approved bedding area, each pre-approved by the Department of Health, shall be
				utilized in the relaying of shellfish.
a.
				Shellfish relayed from a restricted area of a public oyster seed ground will be
				allowed at the discretion of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
				(LDWF) only during the open oyster season. Shellstock from the public oyster
				seed ground will be allowed to be bedded on only two approved leases which will
				be pre-approved by the Department of Health. Relaying from a public oyster seed
				ground area shall be for the purpose of moving the live oyster resource. The
				removal of excessive amounts of nonliving reef material in relay loads shall
				result in the forfeiture of the relay permit and/or the closure of the public
				oyster seed ground area to transplanting. Permit-holders shall allow on-board
				inspection and sampling of relay loads by the LDWF.
7. The permittee shall be responsible for
				notifying the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries prior to leaving port to
				relay shellfish and immediately upon returning from the permitted trip each
				day. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries shall be notified by calling
				(800) 442-2511.
8. All leases shall
				be "red flagged" so that they may be easily spotted by both aircraft and boats.
				"Red flagged" as used in this Paragraph, means that the four outside corners of
				the lease must be marked with poles with red flags attached.
9. All activities relative to the relaying of
				shellfish shall be permitted only during daylight hours with all activities
				completed no later than 30 minutes after official sunset. Applicants may apply
				for a written exemption to this requirement when the distance between the
				restricted area and bedding area is such that compliance is not
				possible.
10. Both sides of the
				permitted vessel shall be marked with the permit number in at least 6-inch-high
				letters on a contrasting background so as to be visible from low flying
				aircraft or from any other vessel in the immediate vicinity.
11. A copy of the complete relay permit and
				applicable rules shall be on board each authorized vessel at all times during
				the active period of the relay permit.
12. The harvesting of shellfish for relaying
				purposes within 150 feet of any sewage discharge point emanating from any camp,
				home, or other habitable structure shall be prohibited.