SECTION .0900 ‑ CLASSIFICATION OF SHELLFISH GROWING WATERS

15A NCAC 18A .0901      DEFINITIONS

The following definitions shall apply to this Section.

(1)           "Approved" means shellfish growing waters determined suitable by the Division for the harvesting of shellfish for direct market purposes.

(2)           "Closed‑system marina" means a marina constructed in canals, basins, tributaries, or any other area with restricted tidal flow.

(3)           "Colony forming unit" means an estimate of the number of viable bacteria cells in a sample as determined by a plate count.

(4)           "Commercial marina" means a marina that offers one or more of the following services: fuel, transient dockage, haul‑out facilities, or repair services.

(5)           "Conditionally approved" means shellfish growing waters that are subject to predictable intermittent pollution but that may be used for harvesting shellfish for direct market purposes when management plan criteria are met.

(6)           "Division" means the Division of Marine Fisheries or its authorized agent.

(7)           "Estimated 90^th percentile" means a statistic that measures the variability in a sample set that shall be calculated by:

(a)           calculating the arithmetic mean and standard deviation of the sample result logarithms (base 10);

(b)           multiplying the standard deviation in Sub-Item (a) of this Item by 1.28;

(c)           adding the product from Sub-Item (b) of this Item to the arithmetic mean; and

(d)           taking the antilog (base 10) of the results from Sub-Item (c) of this Item to determine the estimated 90^th percentile.

(8)           "Fecal coliform" means bacteria of the coliform group that will produce gas from lactose in a multiple tube procedure liquid medium (EC or A‑1) within 24 plus or minus two hours at 44.5° C plus or minus 0.2° C in a water bath.

(9)           "Geometric mean" means the antilog (base 10) of the arithmetic mean of the sample result logarithm.

(10)         "Marina" means any water area with a structure (such as a dock, basin, floating dock) that is utilized for docking or otherwise mooring vessels and constructed to provide temporary or permanent docking space for more than 10 boats.

(11)         "Marine biotoxins" means any poisonous compound produced by marine microorganisms and accumulated by shellstock.

(12)         "Median" means the middle number in a given sequence of numbers, taken as the average of the two middle numbers when the sequence has an even number of numbers.

(13)         "Most probable number (MPN)" means a statistical estimate of the number of bacteria per unit volume and is determined from the number of positive results in a series of fermentation tubes.

(14)         "National Shellfish Sanitation Program (NSSP)" means the cooperative federal-state-industry program for the sanitary control of shellfish that is adequate to ensure that the shellfish produced in accordance with the NSSP Guide For The Control Of Molluscan Shellfish will be safe and sanitary.

(15)         "Open‑system marina" means a marina constructed in an area where tidal currents have not been impeded by natural or man‑made barriers.

(16)         "Private marina" means any marina that is not a commercial marina as defined in this Rule.

(17)         "Prohibited" means shellfish growing waters unsuitable for the harvesting of shellfish for direct market purposes.

(18)         "Public health emergency" means any condition that may immediately cause shellfish waters to be unsafe for the harvest of shellfish for human consumption.

(19)         "Restricted" means shellfish growing waters from which shellfish may be harvested only by permit and are subjected to a treatment process through relaying or depuration that renders the shellfish safe for human consumption.

(20)         "Sanitary survey" means the written evaluation of factors that affect the sanitary quality of a shellfish growing area including sources of pollution, the effects of wind, tides, and currents in the distribution and dilution of polluting materials, and the bacteriological quality of water.

(21)         "Shellfish" means the term as defined in G.S. 113-129, except the term shall not include scallops when the final product is the shucked adductor muscle only.

(22)         "Shellfish growing area" means a management unit that defines the boundaries of a sanitary survey and that is used to track the location where shellfish are harvested.

(23)         "Shellfish growing waters" means marine or estuarine waters that support or could support shellfish life.

(24)         "Shellstock" means live molluscan shellfish in the shell.

(25)         "Shoreline survey" means an in-field inspection by the Division to identify and evaluate any potential or actual pollution sources or other environmental factors that may impact the sanitary quality of a shellfish growing area.

(26)         "Systematic random sampling strategy" means a sampling strategy designed to assess the bacteriological water quality of shellfish growing waters impacted by non-point sources of pollution and scheduled sufficiently far in advance to support random collection with respect to environmental conditions.

History Note:        Authority G.S. 113-134; 113-182; 113-221.2; 143B-289.52;

Eff. June 1, 1989;

Amended Eff. August 1, 1998; February 1, 1997; September 1, 1990;

Readopted Eff. May 1, 2021.