Rhode Island Code of Regulations › Title 250 - Department of Environmental Management › Chapter 40 - Agriculture and Resource Marketing › Subchapter 00 - Marketing and Food Safety › Part 1 - Aquaculture of Marine Species in Rhode Island Waters › Section 250-RICR-40-00-1.7 - Definitions

Current through June 14, 2024
A. As used in these Rules and Regulations,
				  the following words and phrases have the following meanings:
1. "Adequately iced" means that the amount
				  and application of the ice is sufficient to ensure that immediate cooling
				  begins and continues for all shellfish. If ice slurry is used and the shellfish
				  are submerged the presence of ice in the slurry indicates adequate icing. The
				  water source for, the production of, and the handling of the ice must be
				  approved by the Rhode Island Department of Health (DOH) for the intended use of
				  cooling shellfish.
2. "Approved
				  waters" or "Approved shellfish growing areas" means waters of the State which
				  have been classified by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
				  (DEM) Office of Water Resources as Approved Areas, fit for the taking of
				  shellfish for human consumption on a regular basis, according to criteria
				  established by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP) Guide for the
				  Control of Molluscan Shellfish. These classifications may be subject to change
				  as water quality conditions dictate.
3. "Aquaculture" means the cultivation,
				  rearing, or propagation of aquatic plants or animals, hereinafter referred to
				  as cultured crops, under natural or artificial conditions.
4. "Aquaculture facility" means any properly
				  permitted aquaculture operation, either in upland areas or in the State's
				  waters or submerged lands.
5.
				  "Aquaculture lease" means the permitted area for which the Coastal Resources
				  Management Council (CRMC) issues a lease in which aquaculture can be conducted.
				  Leases are discretionary and granted for the express purpose of allowing
				  aquaculture activities on the State's submerged lands or in the water column.
				  Certain types of permitted activities, such as experimental aquaculture
				  operations, may not require a lease.
6. "Aquaculturist" means the individual,
				  firm, partnership, association, academic institution, municipality, or
				  corporation conducting commercial, experimental or restoration aquaculture in
				  Rhode Island.
7. "Biosecurity
				  board" means the board, within the Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC),
				  established pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
											20-10-1.1 and charged with
				  assisting and advising the CRMC in carrying out its role under the provisions
				  of R.I. Gen. Laws Chapter 20-10.
8.
				  "Conditionally approved areas" means any shellfish grounds underlying waters
				  examined and found fit for the taking of shellfish for human consumption on an
				  intermittent basis, declared by the Director as conditionally approved waters
				  pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §§
											20-8.1-3 and
				  20-8.1-4. Such classification may
				  be subject to change as water quality conditions dictate.
9. "Container" means any bag, sack, tote,
				  conveyance, or other receptacle used for containing shellfish for holding or
				  transporting.
10. "CRMC" means the
				  Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council.
11. "Cultured crops" means aquatic or marine
				  animals or plants:
a. That are in the
				  location, water column or artificial conditions specified in a valid
				  aquaculture permit issued pursuant to R.I. Gen. Laws §
												20-10-3 or that have been taken by
				  the holder of such permit from the location, water column or artificial
				  conditions specified in such permit, or,
b. That have been produced by aquaculture
				  methods outside the State and have not been commingled with wild stocks that
				  are in or have been removed from the waters of the State. Appropriate bills of
				  sale, bills of lading and proper tags used in accordance with §
												1.11 of this Part, therein
				  and all other applicable State and Federal laws and Regulations shall be
prima facie
evidence of the origin of cultured crops inside or
				  outside the State.
12.
				  "DEM" means the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.
13. "Designated temperature control" or
				  "Thermally impacted area" means an area designated by the Department in which
				  aquaculturists must comply with more stringent temperature controls for
				  harvested shellfish. These areas have been determined to be Winnapaug Pond,
				  Quonochontaug Pond, Ninigret Pond, Potter Pond, Point Judith Pond, Island Park
				  Cove (Spectacle Cove), Hog Island Cove and Great Salt Pond.
14. "Director" means the Director of the
				  Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management or his/her duly appointed
				  agents.
15. "DOH" means the Rhode
				  Island Department of Health.
16.
				  "Harvest" means the act of removing shellstock with the intention of not
				  returning to the water after husbandry practices. Harvest commences when the
				  first shellfish not returned to the water is removed from the water on any
				  given day, or is exposed by the receding tide.
17. "Husbandry" means any activity related to
				  the cultivation and management of shellfish crops, including but not limited to
				  grading, sorting, cleaning, or planting.
18. "Mechanical refrigeration" means storage
				  in a container or conveyance that is approved by the Rhode Island Department of
				  Health and capable of cooling to, and maintaining, an ambient temperature of
				  forty-five degrees Fahrenheit (45° F) or less.
19. "Operational plan" means a written plan
				  filed with CRMC and, approved by DEM prior to its implementation, that
				  includes, at a minimum: description of the design and activities of the
				  aquaculture facility, specific location and boundaries of the aquaculture lease
				  and facility, types and locations of structures (rafts, pens, tanks, etc.),
				  species to be cultured, source of these organisms (i.e., wild or cultured),
				  procedures to prevent contamination, program of sanitation and maintenance,
				  description of the water source including details of water treatment, program
				  to maintain water quality, maintenance of records, and how shell stock will be
				  harvested.
20. "Person" means an
				  individual, firm, corporation, society, association, partnership, or private or
				  public body.
21. "Possession of
				  aquaculture crops" means the exercise of dominion or control over cultured
				  crops commencing at the time at which a decision is made not to return the
				  crops to the aquaculture lease or facility from which they were taken. This
				  decision must be made at the first practical opportunity, taking into
				  consideration the management practices set forth in the approved operational
				  plan.
22. "Possession of wild
				  stocks" means the exercise of dominion or control over wild stocks commencing
				  at the time at which a decision is made not to return the resource to the
				  immediate vicinity from which it was taken. This decision must be made at the
				  first practical opportunity.
23.
				  "Resubmerge" means, and is strictly limited to, reintroduction of shell stock
				  into approved waters following the removal of such stock from approved waters
				  for husbandry purposes.
24.
				  "Shading" means to shelter by intercepting the direct rays of the sun to
				  protect the shellfish from heat. Shading may be accomplished by any means that
				  effectively protects the harvested shellfish from direct sunlight and prevents
				  excessive heat build-up in the shaded area.
25. "Shellfish" means all species of:
a. Oysters, clams or mussels, whether:
(1) Shucked or in the shell;
(2) Raw, including post-harvest
				  processed;
(3) Frozen or
				  unfrozen;
(4) Whole or in part;
				  and,
b. Scallops in any
				  form, except when the final product form is the adductor muscle only.
26. "Shellfish seed" means, for
				  bay quahog, a shell size less than twenty millimeters (20 mm) (0.78") longest
				  axis length; for oysters, a shell size less than thirty-two millimeters (32 mm)
				  (1.25") longest axis length, and for blue mussels (
Mytilus
				  edulis
) any mussel that settled during the current calendar
				  year.
27. "Spat" means newly
				  settled post-metamorphic bivalve.
28. "Spat collection" means the use of
				  artificial apparatus (spat collectors) to induce settlement of larval
				  shellfish.
29. "Temperature
				  control" means the use of ice, mechanical refrigeration or other approved means
				  capable of lowering and/or maintaining the temperature of the shellstock at
				  fifty degrees Fahrenheit (50° F) or less.
30. "Wild stock" means natural resources,
				  including aquatic or marine animals or plants, which grow within the waters of
				  the State, and are not cultured in any way. Any shellfish that have settled
				  naturally within an aquaculture facility are considered wild stock.