The following words and terms, when used in this subchapter,
shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise.
(1) Active partner--A governmental, quasi-governmental,
or non-governmental organization or other entity that is currently
engaged in department-coordinated efforts to monitor and/or manage
controlled exotic species in Texas as authorized by a letter of approval
from the Director of the Inland Fisheries Division or Coastal Fisheries
Division (or their designee) of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department,
as appropriate.
(2) Agent--A person designated to conduct activities
on behalf of any person or permit holder who is authorized by a controlled
exotic species permit or other provision of this subchapter to conduct
those activities. For the purposes of this subchapter, the term 'permit
holder' includes their agent.
(3) Aquaculture--As defined by Agriculture Code, §134.001(4).
(4) Beheaded--The complete detachment of the head (that
portion of the fish from the gills to the nose; that portion of the
shrimp called the carapace) from the body.
(5) Biological control agent--a natural enemy or predator
of a plant or animal that can be used to control the growth, spread,
or deleterious impact of that plant or animal.
(6) Clinical Analysis Checklist--A department-approved
form specifying sampling protocols and listing certain characteristics
that may constitute manifestations of shrimp disease.
(7) Commercial aquaculture facility--As defined in §134.001(7)
of the Texas Agriculture Code.
(8) Common carrier--A person or entity that is:
(A) in the business of shipping goods or products;
and
(B) not a party to a transaction under a permit issued
under this subchapter.
(9) Controlled exotic species--Any species listed in §57.112
of this title (relating to Exotic Harmful or Potentially Harmful Fish,
Shellfish, and Aquatic Plants).
(10) Controlled exotic species permit--Any permit issued
under this subchapter that authorizes the import, export, propagation,
possession, purchase, sale, and/or transport of a controlled exotic
species.
(11) Conveyance--Any means of transporting persons,
goods, or equipment on the water.
(12) Department--The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
or a designated employee of the department.
(13) Director--The executive director of the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department.
(14) Disease--Contagious pathogens or injurious parasites
that may be a threat to the health of natural populations of aquatic
organisms.
(15) Disease-Free--A status, based on the results of
an examination conducted by a department approved shellfish disease
specialist that certifies a group of aquatic organisms as being free
of disease.
(16) Disease inspector--An employee of the department
who is trained to perform clinical analysis of shrimp disease.
(17) Disease specialist--A third-party person approved
by the department that possesses the education and experience to identify
shellfish disease, such as a degree in veterinary medicine or a Ph.D.
specializing in shellfish disease.
(18) Dock or pier--a structure built over and/or floating
on water that is used to provide access to water and/or for the mooring
of boats.
(19) Emergency--A situation or event beyond the control
of any person, including but not limited to a natural disaster, power
outage, or fire.
(20) Exotic shrimp exclusion zone--That part of the
state that is both south of SH 21 and east of I-35, but not including
Brazos County.
(21) Exotic species--Any aquatic plant, fish, or shellfish
not indigenous to this state.
(22) Facility--Infrastructure including drainage structures
at a location where controlled exotic species are possessed, propagated,
cultured, or sold under a controlled exotic species permit excluding
private waters permitted for triploid Grass Carp stocking in accordance
with §57.116 of this title (relating to Special Provisions--Triploid
Grass Carp).
(23) Facility complex--A group of two or more facilities
located at a common site and sharing water diversion or drainage structures.
(24) Gill-cutting--Cutting through the base of the
gills on the underside of the fish.
(25) Manifestations of disease--Include, but are not
limited to, one or more of the following: heavy or unusual predator
activity, empty guts, emaciation, rostral deformity, digestive gland
atrophy or necrosis, gross pathology of shell or underlying skin typical
of viral infection, fragile or atypically soft shell, gill fouling,
or gill discoloration.
(26) Nauplius (nauplii, if plural)--A larval crustacean
(phylum Arthropoda, subphylum Crustacea) having no trunk segmentation
and only three pairs of appendages.
(27) Post-larva (post-larvae, if plural)--A juvenile
crustacean (phylum Arthropoda, subphylum Crustacea) having acquired
a full complement of functional appendages.
(28) Private pond--A pond or lake capable of holding
exotic species of tilapia and/or triploid grass carp in confinement
wholly within private land for non-commercial purposes.
(29) Public water--As defined by Parks and Wildlife
Code, §66.015, the bays, estuaries, and water of the Gulf of
Mexico within the jurisdiction of the state, and the rivers, streams,
creeks, bayous, reservoirs, lakes, and portions of those waters where
public access is available without discrimination.
(30) Recirculating aquaculture system--A system for
culturing fish that treats or reuses all or a major portion of the
water and is designed for no direct offsite discharge of water.
(31) Quarantine condition--Separation of exotic shellfish
from other stocks of shellfish within a facility such that neither
the shellfish nor the water in which they are or were maintained comes
into contact with water in the state or with other fish and/or shellfish.
(32) Tilapia and triploid grass carp regulatory zones--Geographic
conservation priority zones identified by the department where special
provisions apply. Zone designations by county are as follows:
(A) Conservation zone. The conservation zone shall
include the following counties: Andrews, Archer, Armstrong, Bailey,
Bandera, Baylor, Bell, Bexar, Blanco, Borden, Brewster, Briscoe, Brown,
Burnet, Callahan, Carson, Castro, Childress, Clay, Cochran, Coke,
Coleman, Collingsworth, Comal, Concho, Cottle, Crane, Crockett, Crosby,
Culberson, Dallam, Dawson, Deaf Smith, Dickens, Donley, Ector, Edwards,
El Paso, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Gaines, Garza, Gillespie, Glasscock,
Gray, Hale, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hays, Hemphill,
Hockley, Howard, Hudspeth, Hutchinson, Irion, Jeff Davis, Jones, Kendall,
Kent, Kerr, Kimble, King, Kinney, Knox, Lamb, Lampasas, Lipscomb,
Llano, Loving, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Mason, Maverick, McCulloch,
Medina, Menard, Midland, Mills, Mitchell, Moore, Motley, Nolan, Ochiltree,
Oldham, Parmer, Pecos, Potter, Presidio, Randall, Reagan, Real, Reeves,
Roberts, Runnels, San Saba, Schleicher, Scurry, Shackelford, Sherman,
Stephens, Sterling, Stonewall, Sutton, Swisher, Taylor, Terrell, Terry,
Throckmorton, Tom Green, Travis, Upton, Uvalde, Val Verde, Ward, Wheeler,
Wichita, Wilbarger, Williamson, Winkler, Yoakum, Young, and Zavala.
(B) Stocking zone. The stocking zone shall include
the following counties: Anderson, Angelina, Aransas, Atascosa, Austin,
Bastrop, Bee, Bosque, Bowie, Brazoria, Brazos, Brooks, Burleson, Caldwell,
Calhoun, Cameron, Camp, Cass, Chambers, Cherokee, Collin, Colorado,
Comanche, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas, Delta, Denton, DeWitt, Dimmit, Duval,
Eastland, Ellis, Erath, Falls, Fannin, Fayette, Fort Bend, Franklin,
Freestone, Frio, Galveston, Goliad, Gonzales, Grayson, Gregg, Grimes,
Guadalupe, Hamilton, Hardin, Harris, Harrison, Henderson, Hidalgo,
Hill, Hood, Hopkins, Houston, Hunt, Jack, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson,
Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Johnson, Karnes, Kaufman, Kenedy, Kleberg, La
Salle, Lamar, Lavaca, Lee, Leon, Liberty, Limestone, Live Oak, Madison,
Marion, Matagorda, McLennan, McMullen, Milam, Montague, Montgomery,
Morris, Nacogdoches, Navarro, Newton, Nueces, Orange, Palo Pinto,
Panola, Parker, Polk, Rains, Red River, Refugio, Robertson, Rockwall,
Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, San Patricio, Shelby, Smith,
Somervell, Starr, Tarrant, Titus, Trinity, Tyler, Upshur, Van Zandt,
Victoria, Walker, Waller, Washington, Webb, Wharton, Willacy, Wilson,
Wise, Wood, and Zapata.
(33) Triploid grass carp--A grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon
idella) that has been certified by the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service as having 72 chromosomes and as being functionally sterile.
(34) Waste--As defined in Water Code, §26.001(6).
(35) Water in the state--As defined in Water Code, §26.001(5).
(36) Wastewater treatment facility--All contiguous
land and fixtures, structures, and associated infrastructure, including
drainage structures used for treating wastewater pursuant to a valid
permit issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
(37) Zoological facility--A zoo, aquarium, nature center,
or other, similar facility that is:
(A) open to the public;
(B) operated for the purpose of furthering scientific
understanding, encouraging management and conservation, or furthering
awareness and understanding of biology; and
(C) does not engage in commercial or retail activities
involving animals or aquatic plants.
|
