Best Practices and Guidelines: Industry Producer and Seller

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Business operations that cultivate, produce, distribute, buy and sell aquatic organisms must ensure that their actions and choices do not allow for the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species. These recommendations support better business operations and are intended to lead to improved invasive species management. The following list of recommendations are intended to reduce opportunities for invasive species to enter commerce from sellers.

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1. Knowledge of regulated, invasive species, and problem-prone species 

• Where Codes of Conduct have been generated by industry to address minimizing invasive species in commerce, review and adopt.  

• Regularly reference federal/state/provincial lists for regulated and invasive species and ensure legality for production in location of operation and destination sale location. Because regulated species lists can change, it is recommended to review these annually. 

  • Aquatic animal species selected for production, distribution, purchase, and sale must be compliant with the Federal Injurious Wildlife List.

  • Aquatic plant species selected for cultivation, distribution, purchase, and sale must be compliant with Federal Noxious Weed List.

  • Aquatic animal and plant species selected for production, cultivation, distribution, purchase and sale in specific states or provinces must be compliant with those associated states or provinces regulated and invasive species lists.

• Problem-prone species should be identified annually and removed from production or sale. These species are self-identified as those that are difficult to keep alive in captivity, repeatedly returned for rehome, species housing and care is time-consuming and otherwise challenging, species is pending being listed as an invasive species or regulated in multiple states or provinces, species cannot be certified as disease free, or species that are wild collected.

• Staff should be trained on best practices for identifying hitchhikers and contaminants in shipments. See hitchhiker pamphlet.

 

  2. Record keeping and Labeling

• Create a protocol that ensures all products are labeled properly and accurately during the entire process of cultivation/production through point of sale.

• Maintain accurate and thorough records that indicate scientific name of species, common name and quantity of species.

• Accurately label all species with both current scientific name and common name.

• Source products from producers and distributors that accurately label species with scientific and common names.
   

  3. Information and Education

• Internal Professional Obligations

  • Actively participate in professional organizations to stay current on invasive species issues that may affect business operations.

  • Learn about species regulations for all states and provinces, and understand that some species are illegal to possess, or sell. Know the specific species regulations for your area. 

  • Adhere to voluntary codes of conduct.

  • Publicly promote adherence to codes of conduct among industry peers. 

  • Support and participate in rehome efforts. 

• Customer Information Sharing

  • Inform customers of species with invasive attributes and provide information on alternative and non-invasive species.

  • Inform customers of species regulations associated with shipping restrictions.

  • Inform customers of proper disposal methods of unwanted organisms.

  • Accompany all species that are bought and sold with a care sheet and/or additional information and resources. Care sheets should include, but not be limited to the species’ proper housing, or enclosure requirements, maximum adult size and length, expected lifespan/longevity, proper feeding and diet, temperature, lighting, and humidity requirements.

  • Publicly promote adherence to codes of conduct among customers.
     

  4. Inspection and Packaging

• Develop and implement a written protocol to address contaminants (hitchhikers) in production or distribution, including inspection and cleaning of product in preparation for shipment or sale.

• Provide all staff with regular training to implement contaminant protocols and confirm compliance of implementation.

• Adopt and adhere to processes to clean and inspect animals, plants, and packing.

• When contaminants are found, dispose of them in adherence to local regulations. 

• Record and report contaminants where appropriate. 
   

  5. Compliance

• All scale of operations that deal in the sale of live aquatic plants and animals must comply with applicable licensing requirements to operate.

• Care and housing of species should be compliant with US Clean Water Act, Canadian Environmental Protection Act and other state/provincial licensing and permitting.

• Disposal of species should be compliant with American and Canadian Veterinary Medical Association humane treatment protocols.

 

Best Practices and Guidelines: Customer

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  1. Species selection

• Understand and follow the laws and regulations in your state relative to native and non-native species.

• Understand the invasive risk of any plant or animal considered for purchase and avoid purchase of any species other than low risk species.

• Purchase only captive-bred animals.

• If purchases will result in their re-sale, adhere to Best Practices and Guidelines for sellers (above).

• Learn before you buy so that you know what size the plant or animal will get, how long it will live, and what you will need to provide to care for it long-term.
   

  2. Labeling and Documentation

• Confirm that your purchase clearly identifies the scientific name and common name prior to purchase.

• Always receive a receipt of purchase, business card, and vendor contact information for any animal you purchase as well as a copy of the vendor return and refund policies. 

• If purchases will result in their re-sale, adhere to Best Practices and Guidelines for sellers.
   

  3. Information

• Understand the specific aspects of the species and care requirements for any animal species you acquire, including personality, life span, size, habitat size and needs, diet, and any additional care needs.

• Never release unwanted species.
   

Agency Best Practices and Guidelines: Federal

 

Federal regulatory and management agencies that have responsibilities for live aquatic plants and animals, and invasive species have responsibilities to address pathways that prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species. The following list of recommendations are intended to reduce opportunities for invasive species by addressing management or enforcement needs to minimize invasive species from entering commerce.

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  1. Species Categorization and Lists

• Conduct risk assessment and horizon scans for species not yet in trade.

• All species should be reviewed for potential invasiveness prior to entry into trade. 

• Adopt and enforce existing national legislation and explore additional state regulations that cannot be achieved via incentives and self-regulatory mechanisms.

• Make lists of injurious and regulated species easily accessible to all entities. 
   

  2. Information and Education

• Alert industry leaders and potential buyers to the risks posed by invasive aquatic species sold via commerce.

• Broadly distribute species risk assessment results to key industry stakeholders, particularly with additional climate match analyses.

• Make information accessible to enforcement entities and industry including best practices that help ensure a correct and consistent identification and labeling of all traded species.

• Incentivize correct and consistent identification and labeling through certification programs. 

• Widely share the Lacey Act list of prohibited species for importation, and make this list readily accesssible.
   

  3. Inspection and Labeling 

• Use a standardized single-entry point approach for all import, export and transit-related regulatory requirements to house information and documents (Monaco 2019) modeled after the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business.

• Promote and create the infrastructure for an international labeling system.

• Develop a system of regulations and penalties to encourage accurate species identifications by wholesalers and retailers (Keller et al. 2007).

• Implement consistent inspection of organisms at the place of import to provide incentives for accurate identifications (Keller et al. 2007).

• Develop stricter controls with U.S. Postal Service and other direct mail venues to ensure all live animal products are correctly labeled. 

• Modify U.S. Postal Service regulations 526.6 (requirements for mailing small, harmless, cold-blooded animals (except snakes, turtles, and turtle eggs).

• Promote programs that encourage sustainable business practices to prevent invasive species introduction and spread. Ensure that sellers and buyers are provided with the key information and warnings on species they sell or buy, including on their potential regulated status in North America.
   

  4. Collaboration

• Collaborate with the main online platforms and entities of e-trade of plants and animals to prevent the e-commerce of aquatic invasive species. 

• Interrupt the trans-shipment pathway via international agreements that encourage neighboring jurisdictions to flag or inform of potential shipment with potentially regulated species. 

• Encourage stakeholder industries to develop and adopt voluntary codes of conduct and recognize their adherence.
   

  5. Monitoring

• Support the implementation of monitoring e-commerce of aquatic invasive species regionally across North America using GLDIATR as a model.

 

Agency Best Practices and Guidelines: State or Provincial Agency

 

State, Provincial and Tribal Nations with regulatory and management authority live aquatic plants and animals, and invasive species have responsibilities to address pathways that prevent the introduction and spread of aquatic invasive species. The following list of recommendations are intended to reduce opportunities for invasive species by addressing management or enforcement needs to minimize invasive species from entering commerce.

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  1. Species Categorization and Lists​

• Adopt and enforce state/provincial/tribal legislation and regulations on invasive species.

• Make lists of regulated and invasive species easily accessible to all entities.

• Consider adoption of common terms associated with regulated species to align with neighboring jurisdictions to improve consistency.

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  2. Information and Education

• Alert suppliers and potential buyers to the risks posed by invasive aquatic species sold via commerce.

• Broadly distribute species risk assessment results to key industry stakeholders

• Ensure that sellers and buyers are provided with the key information and warnings on species they sell or buy, including on their potential invasiveness.

• Promote programs that encourage sustainable business practices to prevent invasive species introduction and spread.

• Share detailed species information of primary concern to further educate the community of consumers of live plants and animals.

• Provide education to enforcement divisions on species information of primary concern.
   

  3. Inspection and Labeling 

• Promote consistent inspection of organisms at the place of sale to provide incentives for accurate identifications.

• Consider the adoption of a regulatory mechanism, such as a registration, for all businesses dealing in live plants and animals to improve communication and oversight of business entities.
   

  4. Collaboration

• Encourage stakeholder industries to develop and adopt voluntary codes of conduct and recognize their adherence.
   

  5. Monitoring

• Support the implementation of monitoring e-commerce of aquatic plants and animals at a regional level using GLDIATR as a model. In the absence of such a model/tool, conduct periodic searches and report illegal sales to the appropriate law enforcement agency.