Kelly, Devorah, Tweeters, et al.,

In Washington, I am the person that handles these issues when it comes
to marine invertebrates. I can add a little to what Kelly has stated.
Not only does the state have regulatory authority for the release of
imported (i.e. outside of WA) animals, but also for transfers within the
state and for animals that could escape into the wild (i.e. research and
display animals).

Transfers within the state are of concern primarily because of genetic
issues. With imported marine invertebrate that are intended for release
to the wild, such as oysters, they must have a health certification for
both the animals being imported and the source location. This is only
for established aquaculture species. Animals that are not established
must go through a rigorous set of hoops - a process that can take years
to complete. Animals, for research and display, can be imported without
a health certification only if they are going into an approved
quarantine facility.

Some of the WACs (Washington Administrative Code) for imports and
transfers can be found at the following sections;

WAC 232-12-017 Deleterious exotic wildlife
WAC 232-12-01701 Aquatic nuisance species
WAC 232-12-064 Live wildlife
WAC 220-72 Oyster diseases and pest
WAC 220-77 Aquaculture disease control

This is not a complete list of the rules that at apply to imports and
transfers, however, they are the most important. The text of these rules
can be viewed at;

http://www.leg.wa.gov/wac/

The Statutory Authority (i.e. a permission slip from the legislature)
for this is RCW 77.12.047, which can be found at;

http://www.leg.wa.gov/rcw/index.cfm?fuseaction=section&section=77.12.047

For the most part, I feel that these rules do a good job at controlling
diseases, pest and such. They are not perfect, for example, live seafood
is exempt. The thought behind this being that seafood will not make its
way back into the wild.

Nonetheless, I hope this helps. If anyone has questions, please feel
free to contact me.

Russell

Kelly Mcallister wrote:

>Yes, you may sign your question "naively" but it is a good question.
>
>My best attempt to answer this question would be to say that wildlife is
>the property of the citizens, a public resource, and it is managed by
>state and federal agencies entrusted with many kinds of decisions relating
>to this valuable resource. In the interest of avoiding chaos and different
>people working at cross purposes to one another, a law was created that
>prohibited release of any wildlife unless proper permits were obtained from
>the public agencies entrusted with management responsibilities.
>
>In theory, the agencies who make decisions on approving releases of wildlife
>consider whether diseases might be transmitted to wild populations, whether
>the species to be released might be harmful to native fauna, e.g. an invasive
>exotic species, or whether there are concerns of human safety, agricultural crop
>damage or other societal concerns that would make the release undesireable.
>
>When agencies release wildlife they consider these same factors and, if there
>are questions about societal concerns, a public process is followed that
>provides an opportunity for all views and concerns to be aired. This is how
>the "chaos" part mentioned earlier is theoretically avoided.
>
>Kelly McAllister
>Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
>Olympia, Washington
>Reply to: mcallkrm at dfw.wa.gov
>
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Russell Rogers, Mary Moore, Emily Rogers, and Will Rogers
219 South 2nd Ave.
Sequim WA 98382
(360) 582-3781
mailto:rrogers at olypen.com
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Russell Rogers
Fish and Wildlife Biologist
Point Whitney Shellfish Laboratory
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
1000 Point Whitney Road
Brinnon WA 98320
(360) 586-1498 ex 221
mailto:rogerrer at dfw.wa.gov
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