Section 481A.143. Licensed aquaculture units — requirements.

  1.  Each licensed aquaculture unit shall prepare an annual report of all fish bought, sold, and shipped. The records shall include species name as well as the weight, volume, or count of fish involved. Reports shall be filed on or before December 31 of each year for the preceding year. The department may refuse to renew a unit license if the annual report is not provided.

  2.  Each licensed aquaculture unit shall secure its breeding stock from licensed aquaculture units or licensed aquaculturists in the state or from lawful sources outside the state. An aquaculture unit shall not secure stock in any other manner.

  3.  A shipment of fish must be accompanied by a duplicate of the sales invoice showing the name and address of the producer, date of shipment, the species being transported, the weight, volume, or count of each species being shipped and the name and address of the consignee. A duplicate of the sales invoice must be retained by the aquaculture unit or aquaculturist for one year following the sale.

  4.  A licensed aquaculture unit shall comply with all state laws pertaining to possession, taking, or selling of bait which it handles. The director may revoke the unit license of any person violating this subsection or a rule adopted by the department.

  5.  Minnow and bait boxes and tanks within licensed aquaculture units shall be open for inspection by the department at all times.

  6.  Aquaculture units shall not import live fish, viable eggs, or semen of any species of the salmonid family (trout, salmon, or char) and ictalurid family (catfishes and bullheads), including hybrids, unless the owner or operator possesses a fish importation permit. For the species listed in this subsection only, importation permits shall not be issued unless the fish, eggs, or semen have been inspected by the department and found to be free of disease detrimental to the state’s fishery resources. The owner or operator of an aquaculture unit must provide a statement certifying the fish listed in this subsection or their eggs or semen to be disease free, and include the date of inspection. Certification is not required for other fish species, but the department may require inspection at any time. The department shall establish, by rule, those diseases detrimental to the state’s fishery resources and the location of authorized certified pathologists for inspection.

92 Acts, ch 1216, §5