Food > Fish and Seafood > Shellfish Sanitation > Manual of Operations 

CHAPTER 10 - POLICY AND PROCEDURES FOR CONTROLLED RELAYING AND DEPURATION

ANNEX 10D

(Please see Section 1 - Introduction for Adobe download file)

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT

BETWEEN

                                                                                
(Company)

AND

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES & OCEANS

FOR THE
HARVESTING AND PROCESSING OF SOFTSHELL CLAMS
FROM CLOSED AREAS

This agreement to be in effect from             (date)             to             (date)          . The conditions of the agreement are detailed in Section 1, Harvesting, Transport and Storage, and Section 2, Processing.

The Department of Fisheries & Oceans reserves the right to amend the agreement during the effective period.

Signatures

                                                                 
Company Representative

                                                                 
Dept. of Fisheries & Oceans

SECTION 1. HARVESTING, TRANSPORT AND STORAGE

1.1 Designation of Closed Areas

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans, in consultation with the Department of the Environment, will designate areas or portions of areas from which bivalve molluscs may be harvested for controlled cleansing. Overlay waters from these areas must have a median faecal coliform count of less than 88 MPN/100 mL, with less than 10% of samples greater than 260 MPN/100 mL.

1.2 Harvesting Licence

A special license issued under the authority of the Management of Contaminated Fishery Regulations will be required to harvest bivalve molluscs from closed areas for controlled cleansing. The licence holder must comply with all requirements outlined in this agreement and the conditions specified in the licence.

1.3 Method of Harvesting (Applies to Mechanical Harvesters if permitted)

The licence holder must conform to all pertinent regulations with respect to mechanical harvesters and the mechanical harvester must be licensed under the authority of the applicable fishery regulations and the licence must be carried during the harvesting operations.

1.4 Notification of Intent to Harvest

The licence holder must provide the Conservation and Protection Office in the area of operation with at least one week's advance notice of the weekly harvesting plan. This plan will indicate what areas or portions of areas are to be harvested, when and by whom.

DFO reserves the right to restrict the number of areas being harvested and the number of harvesters operating at any one time.

1.5 Designation and Responsibilities of Harvesters

The licence holder must provide to DFO a list of digger representatives ("Master Harvesters") and diggers working under each representative. A written update of this list must be provided for any change of personnel. Each digger representative must be present during the entire harvesting operation and is responsible for designating the dig site using stakes or markers. The site must be no larger than that area which is in view of the representative at all times. During the harvesting operation each digger must carry a copy of the special licence issued to the depuration facility. The digger representative must also ensure that all clams harvested are placed in containers before they leave the dig site.

1.6 Identification of Shellstock

Harvested shellstock must be transported to their destination (storage facility or cleansing plant), in a sealed vehicle meeting the requirements of Schedule V of the Fish Inspection Regulations, in containers which are tagged to identify harvesting area, harvesting crew and amount harvested. The licence holder must ensure that records of lot identity are maintained.

1.7 Storage Facilities (Interim Storage Facilities - to Be Used When Cleansing Plant is Located Distant from Harvest Area)

The storage facility must be approved by DFO Inspection Services prior to the start of harvesting operations. The facility must have adequate security to prevent free access to shellstock and shall be large enough to allow the identity of the lots to be maintained.

In order to prevent thermal shock or an increase in bacterial levels, shellstock shall not be subjected to temperature fluctuations while in storage. Shellstock shall be maintained at a temperature not greater than the temperature of the process water and not more than 3 °C lower than the process water.

Shellstock shall not be stored longer than three days including day of digging and day of transport to depuration plant.

1.8 Transportation of Shellfish

Containers of shellstock shall be transported directly to their destination (cleansing plant or storage facility) by the most direct route and immediately after harvesting.

SECTION 2 - PROCESSING

2.1 Temperature Control

Shellstock held prior to processing shall be stored at a temperature not greater than that of the process water and not more than 3 °C lower than the process water.

2.2 Culling and Washing

Shellstock shall be washed with approved water (less than 2 coliform/100 mL) to remove foreign matter and culled to remove all broken shelled, dead or gaping shellfish prior to the cleansing process.

2.3 Length of Cleansing

Shall be established on process evaluation data.

2.4 Equipment Cleaning

All equipment used to transport, hold or process shellfish must be maintained in good order and washed and sanitized after every use. The requirements of the Fish Inspection Regulations must be met.

2.5 Records

Records shall be maintained for the following:

1) daily harvesting activities including date of harvesting, harvesting area, and volume harvested;

2) placement of lot (one tides digging from one area) into tanks or cages, tank or cage identity and date and time of loading and unloading;

3) bacteriological analyses of water samples before and after bactericidal treatment;

4) bacteriological analyses of each lot showing basket or tank sampled and zero hour and final hour results. These results must be graphed as well as tabulated (Faecal Coliform vs. Lot#); and

5) water temperature, salinity, rainfall data, oxygen content, turbidity, pH, waterflow and ultraviolet lights on a daily basis, as listed in Annex 10A.

Records must be kept up to date and must be available for audit by DFO.

2.6 Sampling and Laboratory Analysis (Depuration Operations)

The company will be required to analyze zero hour and final hour samples of each lot of shellstock for faecal coliform levels using approved methods.

The laboratory will be subject to periodic audits by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. The laboratory must participate in the split sample program operated by DFO and should participate in the check sample program.

2.7 Cleansing Process - Bacteriological Performance Criteria

The cleansing process will be considered satisfactory if faecal coliform analyses of samples of cleansed clams result in a MPN geometric mean value of 50/100 grams (g) or less and not more than 10% of the samples exceed a faecal coliform MPN of 130/100 g.

A lot will be considered acceptable if it has a faecal coliform MPN of 170/100 g or less.

DFO will establish, based on demonstrated plant performance, a zero hour faecal coliform limit and a minimum depuration cycle time. If any zero hour sample has faecal coliform levels greater than the established maximum, the lot shall be:

1) purified using an approved modified schedule (not less than 72 hours for land-based depuration units) and detained by DFO until the results of bacteriological analyses are complete; or

2) detained and sampled by DFO. If DFO final hour results are less than 170 faecal coliforms/100 g, the lot will be released; if greater than 170/100 g, the lot will remain detained, with the plant having the option to re-depurate using a modified schedule, or heat-process (eg. can) the clams; or

3) disposed of for other than human consumption; or

4) relayed to a closed area.

2.8 Deviation File

If any depurated lot has a final hour faecal coliform count greater than 170/100 g or if two consecutive lots have counts greater than 130 faecal coliforms/100 g, all information pertaining to the lot, including dig site information, storage time, water quality and bacteriological data must be placed in a deviation file. The establishment must notify the DFO Inspection Office immediately upon discovery of the deviation as well as initiate investigative action to determine the cause. DFO will take appropriate action with regard to the lot of clams.