October 7, 2021 - Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) is proposing changes to regulations pertaining to triploid Grass Carp in the Harmful or Potentially Harmful Fish, Shellfish, and Aquatic Plants rules.
Triploid Grass Carp Stocking Permits Period of Validity
Currently, triploid Grass Carp stocking permits do not expire until all fish authorized by the permit have been purchased. However, due to recent rule changes eliminating the requirement for sellers to provide copies of transport invoices, TPWD does not have the ability to verify when all fish have been purchased and permits have expired and so must archive these permits indefinitely. To address this administrative issue, TPWD is proposing an 18-month period of validity for triploid Grass Carp stocking permits, during which all fish must be stocked. This time period was selected to allow for adaptive pond management so that permit holders may stock only a portion of the authorized fish during the first year if desired and stock the remaining fish the following year.
Transfer of Triploid Grass Carp with Property Sale/Transfer
Under current regulation, triploid Grass Carp may not be transferred live to another person. However, these fish typically live for approximately 5-10 years and so it may be necessary to transfer the fish stocked in a pond/tank to a new property owner when a property is sold or transferred to a new owner. The proposed rules would allow such transfers, provided the new owner is provided a copy of the exotic species transport invoice and triploid certification required to be kept by the person in possession of these fish.
Other Minor Changes
The proposed rules would also clarify the intent of the rules that triploid Grass Carp permits are specific to the pond for which they are issued.
The proposed rules would also clarify the procedure TPWD applies to harvest of triploid Grass Carp stocked in public waters by listing water bodies from which they may not be taken, versus water bodies from which they can be harvested. This clarification better describes how these waterbodies are listed on the TPWD website.
Opportunity for Public Comment
Comments on the proposed rule changes may be submitted via the department website (full rule change text available). The online comment period closes 5:00PM November 3, 2021.
