Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 322 CMR - Division of Marine Fisheries › Title 322 CMR 16.00 - Shellfish Sanitation, Harvest, Handling And Management › Section 16.03 - Shellfish Growing Area Classification

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Background and Purpose
. The NSSP's Model Ordinance
			 requires that states regulate the waters under their jurisdiction that support
			 or could support shellfish and determine if these areas meet the sanitary
			 conditions necessary to allow the harvest of shellfish for human consumption.
			 The Division has met this requirement by its sanitary classification of the
			 approximately 1.7 million acres of the overlying waters under the jurisdiction
			 of the Commonwealth. The Division has further classified these waters into 303
			 designated shellfish growing areas based on hydrographical and geographic
			 features.
The Division's shellfish growing area classifications are based
				on an extensive assessment of local environmental conditions and pollution
				sources, including impacts to water quality in the area. The principal
				components of these sanitary surveys, which are conducted by Division staff
				trained by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, include:
(a) an evaluation of pollution sources that
			 may affect an area;
(b) an
			 evaluation of the hydrographic and meteorological characterizes that may affect
			 the distribution of pollutants; and
(c) an assessment of water quality.
Additionally, shellfish are tested for various poisonous or
				deleterious substances based on assessment of pollution sources identified by
				the sanitary survey and as a result of oil and chemical spills. The results of
				the sanitary survey is summarized in a written report by the Division.
In accordance with M.G.L. c. 130, §§ 74 and 74A, the
				Division classifies a shellfish growing area based on the results of the
				sanitary survey and as required by the Model Ordinance. Depending on the extent
				to which an area is contaminated, the Division will make one of the following
				classification determinations for the area: Approved; Conditionally Approved;
				Restricted; Conditionally Restricted; and Prohibited. The Division's
				classification of the shellfish growing area determines whether the harvest of
				shellfish is approved with or without restriction or prohibited in all
				circumstances.
The Division manages the statewide shellfish safety and
				sanitation program to ensure shellfish are safe to harvest and protect public
				health. The municipalities control the regulation and management of both
				commercial and non-commercial shellfisheries in waters under municipal control,
				provided such waters are classified by the Division as Approved or
				Conditionally Approved while in an "Open Status". Certain Conditionally
				Approved areas that are predictably impacted by rain events can be managed by
				municipalities under an NSSP-required Conditional Area Management Plan.
Municipalities are then allowed to open and close these
				Conditionally Approved areas based on performance standards and subject to
				annual evaluation by the Division. Areas classified as Restricted or
				Conditionally Restricted are subject to state control, unless the Division has
				approved a local
Shellfish Conservation and Management Plan
pursuant to M.G.L. c. 130, § 75. In such cases, municipalities are granted
				limited shellfisheries management authority when these areas are in an Open
				Status, but are not allowed to change the sanitary status of these areas from
				open or closed on their own.
The scope of 322 CMR 16.03 includes a description of each of
				the shellfish growing area classifications, and sets forth the requirements
				applicable to each classification and the process for providing public
				notification regarding the classification and status.