[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 112 (Wednesday, June 11, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31790-31791]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-15241]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[I.D. 060297C]
An Evaluation of Potential Shrimp Virus Impacts on Cultured
Shrimp and on Wild Shrimp Populations in the Gulf of Mexico and
Southeastern U.S. Atlantic Coastal Waters
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce, on behalf of the Joint
Subcommittee on Aquaculture.
ACTION: Advance notice of a proposed shrimp virus risk assessment and
public meetings.
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SUMMARY: The Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture (JSA); Office of Science
and Technology Policy, is releasing a report describing the potential
impacts of shrimp viruses on cultured shrimp and on wild shrimp
populations in the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern U.S. Atlantic
coastal waters. Comments received in writing, or at public meetings,
will be used to help develop plans for an ecological risk assessment on
shrimp viruses.
DATES: Consideration will be given to only to those comments received
on or before August 11, 1997. In addition, comments may be provided at
any of three public meetings to be held. See SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
section for further details regarding these meetings.
ADDRESSES: Copies of a report prepared for the JSA entitled, ``An
Evaluation of Shrimp Virus Impacts on Cultured Shrimp and on Wild
Shrimp Populations in the Gulf of Mexico and Southeastern U.S. Atlantic
Coastal Waters'' (the shrimp virus report) may be obtained by
contacting NMFS Assistant Administrator's Office of Industry and Trade,
at:301-713-2379 or by accessing the NMFS Home Page, at: http://
kingfish.ssp.nmfs.gov/oit/oit.html. To help ensure that written
comments are considered, send an original and three copies to Mr.
Jerome Erbacher, Office of Industry & Trade, Room 3675, SSMC3, NMFS,
1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or facsimile to (301)
713-2384. To attend any of the public meetings, contact the Eastern
Research Group, Inc. (ERG), Conference Registration Line,(617) 674-
7374.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For technical information, contact
Dr. Thomas McIlwain, Chairperson of the JSA Shrimp Virus Work Group,
NMFS, 3209 Frederick Street, Pascagoula, MS 39567, (601) 762-4591 or
Dr. Thomas C. Siewicki, 219 Ft. Johnson Road, Charleston SC 29412,
(803)762-8534.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Evidence suggests that exotic shrimp viruses
may be inadvertently introduced into U.S. coastal regions. If
established, these introduced viruses have the potential to infect both
wild shrimp stocks and shrimp in aquaculture through a number of
different pathways. Two potentially significant pathways involve the
shrimp aquaculture and shrimp processing industries. Though considered
less significant, examples of other potential pathways include bait
shrimp, ship ballast water, research and
[[Page 31791]]
display, translocated animals (non-shrimp), and natural spread (e.g.,
migratory birds, large scale currents, flooding).
In 1995, Taura Syndrome Virus (TVS) was documented in shrimp
culture ponds in Texas. After the Texas outbreak, ponds were restocked
with shrimp seed native to the Gulf of Mexico. However, some of the
shrimp in the second stocking were later found infected with other
pathogenic viruses (e.g., White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) and Yellow
Head virus (YHV), only previously identified in shrimp imported from
the far east. In 1996, a repeat outbreak of TSV was documented. In
1997, YHV and WSSV were identified (based on very limited data) in
South Carolina. These outbreaks have raised concerns that viruses could
be spread from aquaculture facilities to the wild shrimp stocks in U.S.
coastal waters, with potentially serious implications.
To determine the likelihood and the potential impacts of exotic
shrimp viruses on wild shrimp populations in the Gulf of Mexico and
Southeastern U.S. Atlantic Coastal Waters and on cultured shrimp in
aquaculture in these areas, the JSA has decided to conduct an
ecological risk assessment. (The JSA consists of representatives from
several Federal organizations, including the National Marine Fisheries
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency). In support of
information exchange and education, and to determine any necessary
course of action to avert the introduction of pathogenic viruses, the
JSA tasked a Federal interagency work group (Shrimp Virus Work Group;
SVWG) with identifying research on shrimp viruses, the mode of virus
transmission, and the potential for the introduction of these viruses
into the Gulf of Mexico and Southeastern U.S. Atlantic Coastal Waters.
The SVWG helped to organize and participated in a shrimp virus workshop
in New Orleans, LA, in June 1996. Recently, the SVWG prepared a shrimp
virus report that summarizes readily-available risk-relevant
information on shrimp viruses. This report has been approved by the JSA
and is available to the public for comment.
Comments on the shrimp virus report received from the public
(whether in writing or at the public meetings) will be used as input to
a workshop that will help finalize plans for conducting a shrimp virus
ecological risk assessment.
Meeting Locations and Times : July 15, in Charleston, South
Carolina; July 21, in Mobile, Alabama; and July 23, in Brownsville,
Texas. There is no charge for attending the public meetings listed
above; however, seats are limited, so it is advisable to register as
soon as possible. Participants wishing to make comments or address
issues can register with ERG prior to the workshop, or on site. Each
participant will be assigned a time slot on a first-come, first-served
basis. Individual comments should be limited to 3 to 5 minutes;
additional or lengthy comments may be submitted in writing to the
address provided above.
Dated: June 5, 1997.
Rolland Schmitten,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 97-15241 Filed 6-10-97; 8:45 am]
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