Guidelines for seed production and culture of Specific Pathogen Free Penaeus monodon

2041 GI/202 4 (1) EXTRAORDINARY PART II —Section 3 —Sub-section ( ii) PUBLISHED BY AUTHORITY No. 1363] NEW DELHI, SATURDAY , MARCH 1 6, 2024 /PHALGUNA 26, 1945 CG-DL-E-18032024-253197 MINISTRY OF FISHERIES, ANIMAL HUSBANDRY AND DAIRYING (Department of Fisheries ) NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 15th March, 2024 S.O. 1429 (E).— In pursua nce of section 3 of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005 (24 of 2005), read with clause (c) of rule 3 of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Rules, 2024, the Central Government beery notifies the following guidelines, namely: - 1. Short title an d comme ncement. – (1) These guidelines may be called the Guidelines for Seed Production and Culture of Specific Pathogen Free Penaeus monodon . (2) They shall come into force from the date of their publication in the Official Gazette. Guidelines for see d producti on and culture of Specific Pathogen Free Penaeus monodon A. Specific Pathogen Free Status of Broodstock Rearing or Nuclear Breeding Facility. - (1) Shrimp that are maintained in the broodstock rearing facility or Nuclear Breeding Centre shall have a history of freedom from disease status documented through a surveillance programme, at least for a continuous period of two years. (2) Specific path ogen free implies that the facilities, operations and animals are free of the specifically listed pathogens, World Organisation for Animal Health listed pathogens and other pathogens of concern to India; and the facility producing the specific pathogen fr ee stock shall also be certified for the specific pathogen free status by the designated agency of the Gove rnment . B. Quarantine. - (1) All the broodstock including parent post larvae meant for rearing into broodstock imported by hatcheries and Broodstock Multiplication Centres shall undergo quarantine including every specific pathogen free stock brought into the country even if they are brought from the islands of the Indian territory to the mainland. (2) All the quarantine guidelines including biosecuri ty requirements, preborder quarantine requirements, disinfection methods, etc., as provided for import of specific pathogen free L. vannamei and as notified vide notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Agriculture, number S.O. 2482 (E), dated the 15th October, 2008 under the Livestock Importation Act, 1898 (Act 9 of 1898), shall be applicable in the case of specific pathogen free P. monodon too. C. Safeguards and Regulations for Operation of Hatcheries for Specific Pathogen Free P. monodon 1. Criteria for application to breed specific pathogen free P. monodon .-(1) Hatcheries engaged or intending to be engaged in shrimp seed production having the required biosecurity facilities as specified by the Authority shall be eligible to apply for registration with the Authority and for permission to import specific pathogen free P. monodon broodstock or to acquire from indigenous specific pathogen free sour ce and to produce and sell post - larvae of specific pathogen free P. mon odon . (2) The hatchery operator shall submit application in prescribed format to the Authority duly enclosing required documents and payment of registration fee of Rs. 10,000/ - (Rupee s ten thousand) for registration of hatchery in accordance with the proc edure laid sown in rule 9 of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Rules, 2024. (3) Approval of the hatchery for rearing specific pathogen free P. monodon shall be given by the Authority after due inspection of the hatchery facilities by a team constituted th e Authority for this purpose. (4) The hatchery facilities shall have strict biosecurity control through physical separation or isolation of the diffe rent production facilities effective through the construction of barriers and implementation of process an d product flow controls. (5) The hatchery facility shall have a wall or fence around the periphery of the premises, with adequate height to prevent t he entry of animals and unauthorised persons to help reduce the risk of pathogen introduction by this route , as well as improve overall security. 2. Sanitary requirement. -(1) Entry into the hatchery shall be restricted to the personnel assigned to work exclusively in this area and a record of personnel entering the facility shall be maintained by the security p ersonnel. (2) The entry of any person including staff shall be compulsorily through shower and changing room to enable them to take shower and cha nge into working clothes and boots before entering the facility and the same procedure shall be followed at t he end of the working shift. (3) A provision shall be made for disinfection of vehicle tyres (tyre baths at the gate), feet (footbaths containing hypochlorite solution at >50 ppm active ingredient), and hands (bottles containing iodine). Polyvinylpyrolidon e (PVP) 20 ppm and/or 70% alcohol) to be used upon entering and exiting the unit. 3. Water intake. - (1) Each functional unit of the hatchery sha ll have independent water treatment facility isolated from all other water -supply systems and separate recircul ation systems may be used for each functional unit of hatchery to reduce water usage and improve biosecurity, especially in high risk areas. (2) Water for the hatchery shall be filtered and treated to prevent the entry of vectors and pathogens that may be present in the source water by initial filtering through sub -sand well points, sand filters (gravity or pressure), or mesh bag filters into the first reservoir or settling tank. (3) After primary disinfection by chlorination or ozonation or such other app ropriate disinfectants, and after settlement, the water shall be filtered again with a finer filter and then disinfected using ultraviolet lig ht or ozone or both. (4) The water -supply system may include use of activated carbon filters, the addition of et hylene diamine tetra acetic acid and temperature and salinity regulation. 4. Water treatment and discharge of wastewater. -(1) The discharged water from the hatchery, shall be held temporarily and treated with hypochlorite solution (>20 ppm active chlorine for not less than sixty minutes) or other effective disinfectant and appropriately dechlorinated prior to discharge. (2) The seawater to be used in the facility shall be delivered into a storage tank where it will be treated with hypochlorite solution (20 ppm active ingredient for not less than thirty minutes) followed by sodium thiosulphate (1 ppm for every ppm of residual chlo rine) and strong aeration. (3) No wastewater shall be released out of the hatchery without chlorination and dechlorination and Eff luent Treatment System shall be designed in accordance with the desires and capacity as specified by the Authority to include this provision. 5. Disinfection of implements. - (1) Used containers and hoses must be washed and disinfected with hypochlorite sol ution (20 ppm) before further use. (2) Each broodstock holding tank shall have -, (i) a separate set of implements which must be clearly marked and placed near the tanks; and (ii) facilities for disinfection of all the implements at the end of ea ch day’s use. 6. Broodstock in hatchery. - (1) Only specific pathogen free broodstock cleared through the quarantine shall be us ed in the hatchery for seed production. (2) Use of broodstock other than those certified as Specific Pathogen Free by the design ated authority is strictly prohibited. (3) Hatcheries involved in specific pathogen free P. monodon seed production shall no t use any other non - Specific Pathogen Free species within the hatchery premises. 7. Seed production and sale. - (1) Nauplii may be sold to other hatcheries only when permitted by the Authority and only tested and certified post -larvae shall be sold. (2) Post -larvae of specific pathogen free P. monodon right from production to sale shall be maintained at the specific pathogen free fac ility with proper biosecurity safeguards. (3) Post -larvae shall be sold only to the farmers who have registered with the Authority specifically for the culture of P. monodon , and a copy of the certificate of registration issued by the Authority for culturi ng specific pathogen free P. monodon shall be retained by the hatchery operator for inspection. (4) The detailed record of the seed production as well as sale including the name and address of the buyer or farmer shall be maintained. 8. Disease reporting and record maintenance. - (1) Any disease outbreak in the hatchery shall be reported immediatel y to the Authority. (2) The hatcheries shall maintain a record of the imported broodstock or indigenously certified broodstock of specific pathogen free status with details of source, quantity imported, or procured from indigenous sources, the number of mortality, eggs produced, nauplii produced, post -larvae produced, post -larvae sold, name and address of the farmer to whom sold, date and number of the registrati on and permission certificate issued by the Authority and report these in their quarterly comp liance reports to be submitted to the Authority in Form -C-I annexed to these guidelines. 9. Inspection. - Any person authorised by the Authority shall periodicall y visit and check the status of the broodstock, the seed production and sale. 10. Destructi on of stock at unauthorised hatcheries or farms. - During the inspection of hatcheries or farms by the inspection team or Authorized Officer of the Authority, if an y unauthorised seed production, sale of specific pathogen free seed or culture of Specific P athogen Free P. monodon is noticed, the inspection team may confiscate, dispose of or destroy the stock, as it thinks fit. 11. Bank Guarantee. - The approved hatche ries shall pay rupees fifty thousand towards monitoring fee and deposit a bank guarantee fo r five lakhs rupees in favour of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority in accordance with the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Rules, 2024, to ensure compliance of these Gu idelines and in the event of any violation, the bank guarantee shall be invoked. D. Norms and Regulations for Approval and Operation of Farms 1. Eligibility criteria for farms to culture specific pathogen free P. monodon .- (1) Aquaculture farmers registere d with the Authority shall submit a separate application for permission for farming spec ific pathogen free P. monodon . (2) The inspection team authorised by the Authority, for specific pathogen free L. vannamei culture, shall inspect the farm intending to culture specific pathogen free P. monodon and based on its recommendation regarding the suitability of the facility for farming of specific pathogen free P. monodon , applications shall be processed by the Secre tary of the Authority for approval of the Au thority for issuing permission to farms for farming of specific pathogen free P. monodon . (3) Farms culturing specific pathogen free P. monodon shall establish adequate biosecurity measures including fencing, r eservoirs, bird -scare, separate implements fo r each of the ponds and be managed by personnel who are trained or experienced in management of biosecurity measures. (4) Farms irrespective of their size shall have an Effluent Treatment System which is able t o handle the wastewater let off during harvest . Harvesting shall be sequential depending on the size of the Effluent Treatment System and the quality of the wastewater shall conform to the standards prescribed under the guidelines issued by the Authority. (5) In low stocking density (≤10 PL/m2) cultu re of specific pathogen free P. monodon , Effluent Treatment System is optional for farms less than 5 ha. 2. Water discharge protocols. - (1) In case of any outbreak of disease, distress harvesting may be done through netting and the water shall be chlorina ted and dechlorinated before release into drainage system. (2) Wastewater shall be retained in the Effluent Treatment System for a minimum period of two days. (3) Farms which follow Zero Water Exchange system of farming may also take up specific pathogen free P. monodon farming. 3. Biosecurity considerations. - Farms approved for specific pathogen free P. monodon culture shall not be permitted for farming of an y other non - specific pathogen free crustacean species simultaneously in the same pond or farm. 4. Norms for culture of Specific Pathogen Free P. monodon . - (1) Tested and certified seed shall be procured only from hatcheries authorised to breed specific pathogen free P. monodon broodstock and sell the seed. (2) Stocking densities shall not exceed 30 no./m2. (3) Strict compliance with the wastewater standards shall be mandatory and inspection team authorised by Authority in each case shall monitor the q uality of wastewater as per the procedures laid down in the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Regulation s, 2008. 5. Record maintenance at farms. - (1) The farmers shall maintain a detailed record of the name and address of the hatchery from where they procure d the seed, quantity procured, number and date of the valid registration of the hatchery, etc. (2) T he farmers shall record the quantity of shrimp produced, sold, and the name and address of the processor to whom sold and it shall be made available to th e inspection team authorised by the Authority, during inspection. E. Norms for permitting farms which are registered for P. monodon culture to take up L. vannamei culture. - (1) Biosecurity requirements are essential irrespective of the size of the farm for ensuring successful culture. (2) To avoid the risk of disease occurrence using non -disinfected cree k water while filling up the ponds, water disinfection prior to stocking should be done in the pond itself, in case if they do not have the reservoi r ponds. (3) Zero water exchange system with in -situ bioremediation with probiotics may be followed. (4) All the other biosecurity requirements like filtration, fencing (men, crab, and bird) and disinfection protocol for the labour and implements should be strictly followed. (5) Effluent Treatment System is mandatory in P. monodon farms of above five hectares an d case of L. vannamei culture, is mandatory for all farms irrespective of the size when they follow the stocking density of up to sixty numbers per square meter as provided in the Guidelines for L. vannamei culture, in low density culture of L. vannamei, (i.e., twenty numbers per square meter), Effluent Treatment System is left optional for farms of less than five hectares as was followed in the case of P. monodon culture. (6) After the culture and harvest, the water in the pond shall be retained for at le ast three days for the settlement of suspended particles and disinfected before release. (7) Though these Guidelines are issued having due regard to the bio -security protocols to the benefit of small independent farmers, group farming may be preferred with common reservoirs, common Effluent Treatment System and collective biosecurity protocols . FORM C -I [See Para C - 8 (2)] Format for Quarterly Compliance Report from Hatcheries The report should contain the following information: 1. Name and Addre ss 2. Date and number of certificate of registration and permission to import 3. Number of broodstock imported, males and females 4. Transport mortality 5. Quarantine mortality 6. Total number of spawning 7. Total number of eggs produced 8. Total num ber of nauplii produced 9. Total number of post -larvae produced 10. Report on general aquatic health monitoring and any unusual mortality 11. Total number of post -larvae sold to the farmers 12. Details of the farmers to whom seed sold (shoul d incl ude information on the name , address, Registration Number) and copy of the permission letter for culturing Specific Pathogen Free P. monodon issued by Coastal Aquaculture Authority. Place : Signature Date : Name of the authorised signatory [F. No. J-1903336/2 /2024 -DOF (E -23648)] NEETU KUMARI PRASAD, Jt . Secy . Uploaded by Dte. of Printing at Government of India Press, Ring R oad, Mayapuri, New Delhi -11006 4 and Published by the Controller of Publications, Delhi -110054.