[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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