S*639 Session 109 (1991-1992)
S*0639(Rat #0040, Act #0015 of 1991) General Bill, By
Senate Fish, Game and Forestry
A Bill to amend Chapter 18, Title 50, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
relating to aquaculture, so as to change the reference to reciprocal hybrid to
hybrid, revise related definitions and requirements for documentation of the
sale or transfer of hybrids, delete the reference to brood stock and
fingerlings of striped bass originating out of state, revise the requirements
pertaining to transporting devices used in the aquaculture business, provide
for permitted instead of approved species, delete the references to tagged
fish and sealed products, revise the fish transportation and labeling
requirements, provide for inspection and sampling in facilities when employees
are present, and delete the requirement for sealed containers containing
twenty pounds or less of product to be labeled.
02/12/91 Senate Introduced, read first time, placed on calendar
without reference SJ-10
02/13/91 Senate Read second time SJ-19
02/14/91 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-22
02/19/91 House Introduced and read first time HJ-4
02/19/91 House Referred to Committee on Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-4
03/06/91 House Committee report: Favorable Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Environmental Affairs HJ-3
03/07/91 House Read second time HJ-14
03/19/91 House Read third time and enrolled HJ-36
04/03/91 Ratified R 40
04/04/91 Signed By Governor
04/04/91 Effective date 04/04/91
04/04/91 Act No. 15
04/10/91 Copies available
(A15, R40, S639)
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 18, TITLE 50, CODE OF LAWS
OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO AQUACULTURE, SO
AS TO CHANGE THE REFERENCE TO RECIPROCAL HYBRID TO
HYBRID, REVISE RELATED DEFINITIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
FOR DOCUMENTATION OF THE SALE OR TRANSFER OF
HYBRIDS, DELETE THE REFERENCE TO BROOD STOCK AND
FINGERLINGS OF STRIPED BASS ORIGINATING OUT OF STATE,
REVISE THE REQUIREMENTS PERTAINING TO TRANSPORTING
DEVICES USED IN THE AQUACULTURE BUSINESS, PROVIDE FOR
PERMITTED INSTEAD OF APPROVED SPECIES, DELETE THE
REFERENCES TO TAGGED FISH AND SEALED PRODUCTS,
REVISE THE FISH TRANSPORTATION AND LABELING
REQUIREMENTS, PROVIDE FOR INSPECTION AND SAMPLING IN
FACILITIES WHEN EMPLOYEES ARE PRESENT, AND DELETE THE
REQUIREMENT FOR SEALED CONTAINERS CONTAINING
TWENTY POUNDS OR LESS OF PRODUCT TO BE LABELED.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
Aquaculture, hybrid striped bass
SECTION 1. Chapter 18, Title 50 of the 1976 Code, as added by Act
587 of 1988, is amended to read:
"CHAPTER 18
Aquaculture
Article 1
Hybrid Striped Bass
Section 50-18-10. When used in this chapter:
(1) Hybrid means the progeny resulting from cross-breeding a striped
bass with a white bass or their hybrids approved by the department.
(2) Fingerling means a postlarval fish less than one year old which has
all the characteristics of the adult fish.
(3) Aquaculturist means an individual, a corporation, a cooperative, a
partnership, a company, or an entity that engages in aquaculture.
(4) Trafficking means the processing, buying, selling, bartering,
trading, exchanging, or offering or exposing for sale, barter, trade, or
exchange, or otherwise acquiring or disposing of a fish.
(5) Department means the South Carolina Wildlife and Marine
Resources Department or its authorized agent.
(6) Product means the meat, organs, flesh, skin, fry, eggs, gametes,
fingerlings, or skeleton of a hybrid which is fresh, frozen, dried, smoked,
cured, or cooked that is whole or mutilated or parts of them.
(7) Aquaculture means the controlled cultivation of aquatic species in
confinement, including breeding, spawning, rearing, and growing out either
alone or in combination and trafficking in the fish.
(8) Retailer means a person that sells directly to the ultimate
consumer, not for resale.
(9) Wholesaler means a person that sells products to licensed retailers,
jobbers, dealers, or other wholesalers for resale but does not sell to users or
consumers.
(10) Processor means a person that engages in cutting, dressing,
mutilating, filleting, freezing, or packaging of products other than those
prepared at establishments for serving as food for consumption on the
premises.
(11) Distributor means a person including a wholesaler, retailer, or
processor who ships, transports, or distributes products for market.
(12) Ultimate consumer means a person who purchases or receives an
aquaculture product for his consumption and not for resale.
(13) Santee-Cooper strain means the genetic strain of striped bass
indigenous to the Santee-Cooper Lake System of South Carolina.
(14) Business establishment means a location where the trafficking of
an approved aquaculture product takes place.
Section 50-18-20. The department may permit the production and sale
of hybrids in this State by qualified aquaculture operations.
Before engaging in a business trafficking in hybrids, a person first shall
obtain at no cost a permanent certificate of permission from the department
to be issued upon request. Before engaging in a business of producing or
processing hybrids, a person first shall obtain a permit from the department
for an annual fee of one hundred dollars. Application for permits or
certificates of permission must be made on forms provided by the
department. Every business establishment is required to be permitted. A
permit or certificate of permission required by this chapter must be
displayed conspicuously.
Permits issued under this section must include the species utilized,
conditions and specifications for aquaculture facilities and ponds,
requirements for the possession, taking, holding, transporting, importing, or
exporting hybrids, production reporting requirements, and other provisions
the department determines to be necessary. The department and its agents
may inspect all facilities, vehicles, boats, and operations of an applicant or
person who has been issued a permit or certificate of permission and
inspect and sample during business hours a product being possessed,
processed, cultured, transported, or offered for sale.
Section 50-18-30. When hybrids are sold or transferred between
permitted persons, the documentation of the transactions must show the
permit number of both parties and total poundage of the product
transferred. The documentation must be maintained by both parties for
three years.
Section 50-18-40. If a person has in his possession or at his facility a
striped bass not certified by the department as to the genetic strain
approved for use in this State or a hybrid not approved for use in this State,
the species must be destroyed at the discretion of the department. The
possessor is responsible for the cost and liability for the destruction and
disposal of the illegal product. No striped bass or hybrid may be placed or
released into waters of the State without a permit issued by the department.
Section 50-18-50. (A) Brood stock may be acquired for aquaculture
operations from the waters of the State only in the following manner:
(1) Game fish must be taken by hook and line only as described
in Section 50-13-10.
(2) The department may restrict the taking of brood stock in an
area where competition or interference with department activities may
occur.
(3) Daily creel and size limits apply as set forth in this title.
(4) The department must be notified as approved by the
department in advance of the registration of the boats and location of
persons attempting to take brood stock.
(5) Only permanent employees or partners of an aquaculture
operation may engage in the acquisition of brood stock, and no contractors,
subcontractors, or temporary employees may engage in or contract to
acquire brood stock.
(6) Daily logs showing the number of fish acquired from the
waters of the State must be maintained and also must show from which area
the fish are harvested.
(7) Only farm-reared (cultured) striped bass may be sold for
brood stock to permitted persons only.
(B) Striped bass originating from out of state must be certified as the
Santee-Cooper strain by the department or agencies approved by the
department.
(C) Brood stock may be produced from wild or cultured fish.
Section 50-18-60. A person who possesses fingerlings of hybrids shall
maintain an invoice showing the person, including permit number, from
whom the fingerlings were acquired, the date of sale, and the total
poundage of the fish and the species. Invoices must be maintained by the
seller and the buyer for three years.
Section 50-18-70. Each shipment of hybrids must be accompanied by
an invoice or other document showing the product, identification of the
fish, date, total poundage, and receiver and destination, along with the
name and address and permit number of the producer or processor, or both.
If live fish or eggs of an approved hybrid are shipped into South Carolina
from out of state, the department must be notified eight hours in advance of
the date and time of shipment and of other information requested.
Section 50-18-80. Every motor vehicle, boat, or other transporting
device owned, leased, or controlled by the permittee and used in the
business of aquaculture must have attached to it conspicuously a decal in a
manner prescribed by the department. This section does not apply to
businesses who are solely common carriers, shippers, distributors, or
retailers.
Section 50-18-90. (A) A person engaged in the business of aquaculture
shall maintain invoices on permitted aquaculture species which are bought,
sold, or transferred. The invoices must be maintained for three years.
(B) A person who produces hybrids shall maintain invoices on feed and
other supplies for three years.
The department must be notified within twelve hours of a die-off in
excess of two hundred fifty fish.
Section 50-18-100. No trafficking in hybrids is allowed unless the
products are labeled in the following manner:
(1) Whole or drawn (gilled and gutted) fish which are dead must be
marked or identified as provided for and approved by the department before
being transported from the facility where they are grown or processed.
(2) Fish harvested out of state from permitted facilities may be
transported alive in water on properly permitted vehicles to processors with
eight hours prior notification to the department.
(3) Fish harvested in the State from permitted facilities may be
transported alive in water on properly permitted vehicles to processors with
eight hours prior notification as approved by the department.
(4) Labels must be affixed in the manner prescribed by the
department.
Section 50-18-110. No person may transfer, alter, damage, deface,
tamper with, reuse, counterfeit, or use in a fraudulent manner a tag,
document, seal, label, permit, or other instrument required by this chapter.
Section 50-18-120. A person who processes hybrids must be permitted
by the department and shall maintain invoices on permitted fish which are
bought, sold, transferred, processed, or possessed in his facility. The
invoice must show the date, species, and poundage of all transactions. The
invoice must show the origin and destination of the product including
permit numbers. If the processor fillets or mutilates the product, the
product must be labeled as prescribed in this chapter before leaving the
processing facility. Invoices must be maintained for three years. The
permitted facility shall allow inspection and sampling by the department
during business hours or when employees are present.
Section 50-18-130. Retailers, including restaurants, shall advertise
aquaculture species as `farm raised' or a similar designation indicating the
origin of the product.
Section 50-18-140. A person who sells hybrids shall provide the buyer
with an invoice showing his permit number, date of sale, species sold, and
total poundages. This section does not apply to a retail business which sells
the product directly to the ultimate consumer. No business establishment
may store or possess hybrids unless they are permitted, but restaurants and
permitted businesses engaged in the lawful sale of hybrids may offer
approved products for sale if the labeled containers are retained until the
time of sale to the ultimate consumer.
Labels must be affixed in the manner prescribed by the department and
must remain attached until prepared by or for the ultimate consumer.
Section 50-18-150. A person outside of the State shall obtain an
aquaculture permit before he sells, ships, or causes to be shipped into the
State hybrids. A person who sells or ships hybrids to a person in South
Carolina shall meet all requirements for sale. The department must be
notified eight hours in advance of a shipment coming into the State of live
hybrids or eggs of hybrids including the name and permit number of the
receiver. The out-of-state permittee shall retain copies of invoices showing
the date received, poundage, and receiver for three years. The permittee
agrees to inspection during business hours or when employees are present.
Section 50-18-160. A person who transports hybrids shall possess an
invoice showing the number and the poundage of product possessed. If the
person transporting or possessing hybrids is a common carrier or trucking
company he shall possess a bill of lading showing the shipper and receiver
and their aquaculture permit number if permitted. A person receiving for
shipment or possessing hybrids agrees to inspection and sampling by the
department. The carrier of hybrids agrees to inspection by his acceptance
of the product for shipment. A person receiving hybrids for shipment shall
maintain invoices and bills of lading for three years. No person may ship or
transport a product unless the product is labeled as prescribed by this
chapter.
Section 50-18-170. It is unlawful for a person to possess a label
required by this chapter unless it is attached to the product for which it is
designed. However, this section does not apply to the aquaculturist,
processor, or label manufacturer.
Section 50-18-180. No person may traffick in striped bass or its hybrids
or product of them from the wild or from private waters not permitted as or
for aquaculture operations.
Section 50-18-190. No person may transfer, damage, vandalize, poison,
steal, or attempt to tamper, damage, vandalize, poison, or steal the products
or facilities of a permitted aquaculturist. No person may cast or cause to be
cast poison, impurities, or other substances which are injurious to hybrids
into the waters or water supply for a permitted aquaculture facility. No
person may attempt to impair or impede an aquaculturist or his employees
while in pursuit of lawful activities associated with aquaculture.
Section 50-18-200. The penalties for violating this chapter are:
For a first offense violation of a section, except Section 50-18-40, or if
the money or other consideration exchanged for the product is of a value of
one hundred dollars or less, the penalty is a fine of not more than two
hundred dollars or imprisonment not more than thirty days. If the money or
other consideration exchanged for the product is of a value of more than
one hundred dollars, the penalty is a fine of not less than five hundred nor
more than five thousand dollars or imprisonment not less than thirty days
nor more than one year, or both. In addition, if the money or other
consideration is of a value of more than one hundred dollars, there is a
penalty of twenty-five dollars a fish or part of a fish, and the person
convicted may lose the permit or certificate of permission and hunting and
fishing privileges for one year from the date of conviction.
For a second offense violation of a section, except Section 50-18-40, the
fine is not less than one thousand nor more than five thousand dollars or
imprisonment not less than thirty days nor more than one year. In addition,
there is a penalty of twenty-five dollars a fish or part of a fish, and the
person convicted may lose the permit or certificate of permission and
hunting and fishing privileges for three years from the date of conviction.
For a third or subsequent offense or for a violation of Section 50-18-40,
the fine is five thousand dollars, no part of which may be suspended, or
imprisonment for one year, or both. In addition, there is a penalty of
twenty-five dollars a fish or part of a fish, and the person may lose the
permit or certificate of permission and hunting and fishing privileges for
three years from the date of conviction. Also, equipment used in the
operation of an aquaculture or a processing business is forfeited to the
department. Items forfeited may be utilized or sold by the department as it
considers appropriate, and the proceeds of fines and forfeitures and the
permit fees provided in Section 50-18-20 must be used to support the
Aquaculture Inspection and Enforcement Program of the
department."
Time effective
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
Approved the 4th day of April, 1991. |