Marine Biotoxin Management Plan Victorian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program January 2004 Fisheries Victoria Management Report Series No.11 Marine Biotoxin Management Plan © The State of Victoria, Department of Primary This publication was prepared for Fisheries Industries, 2004 Victoria by WATER ECOscience Pty Ltd. This publication is copyright. No part may be Authorised by the Victorian Government, produced by any process except in accordance 6/232 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968. Published by the Department of Primary Reproduction and the making available of this Industries. material for personal, in‐house, or non‐ Fisheries Victoria commercial purposes is authorised on the PO Box 500 condition that: East Melbourne Victoria 3002. • The copyright is acknowledged as the owner; Copies are available from the website: • No official connection is claimed; www.dpi.vic.gov.au/fishing • The material is made available without charge Follow the links Managing Fisheries, or cost; and Management Plans and Strategies • The material is not subject to inaccurate, Disclaimer: This publication may be of assistance misleading or derogatory comment. to you, but the State of Victoria and its employees Requests to reproduce or communicate this do not guarantee that the publication is without material in any way not permitted by this licence flaw or is wholly appropriate for your particular (or by the fair dealing provisions of the Copyright purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for Act 1968) should be directed to the Copyright an error, loss or other consequence which may Officer, 6/320 Victoria Parade, East Melbourne, arise from you relying on any information in this 3002. publication. ISSN: 1448‐1693 This research report cannot be used in court. Fishing laws change from time to time. It is your ISBN: 1 74146 059 X responsibility to ensure that you are acting within Preferred way to cite this publication: the law. If you are in doubt contact the Customer Department of Primary Industries (2004). Marine Service Centre (telephone 136 186 or Biotoxin Management Plan 2004. www.dpi.vic.gov.au/fishing/) Fisheries Victoria Management Report Series No.11. Marine Biotoxin Management Plan ii Contents Acknowledgements 1 1 Amendments 2 1.1 Amendments 2 1.2 Amendments Record 2 2Introduction 4 2.1 Background 4 2.2 Aims and Objectives 4 2.3 Scope 5 2.4 Review 5 3 Administration 6 3.1 Legislation & Guidelines 6 3.1.1 Federal 6 3.1.2 State 6 3.2 Roles and Responsibilities 6 3.2.1 Department of Primary Industries (FV) 6 3.2.2 Department of Human Services (Victoria) 6 3.2.3 Local Government 6 3.2.4 PrimeSafe 7 3.2.5 Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service 7 3.2.6 Industry 7 3.2.7 WATER ECOscience P/L 7 3.2.8 Environment Protection Authority 8 3.2.9 Australian Shellfish Quality Assurance Advisory Committee 8 3.2.10 Victorian Shellfish Quality Assurance Advisory Committee 8 3.3 Local Marine Biotoxin Management 8 4 Monitoring 9 4.1 Monitoring Program Goals 9 4.2 Sampling Site Selection 9 4.3 Sampling Officers and Sample Collection 9 4.4 Sampling Safety 10 4.5 Phytoplankton Monitoring 10 4.5.1 Sampling Frequency 10 4.5.2 Methods 10 4.5.3 Phytoplankton Species Monitored 11 4.6 Tissue biotoxin monitoring 12 4.6.1 Sampling Frequency 12 4.6.2 Shellfish Species Sampled 12 4.6.3 Methods 12 Marine Biotoxin Management Plan iii 4.7 Environmental Information 14 4.8 Reporting and Notification 14 4.9 Data Storage 15 4.10 Contingency Plans for Marine Biotoxin Events 15 5Area Closure and Reopening 17 5.1 Closure Criteria 17 5.2 Mechanism for Closure 17 5.3 Industry Instigated Closure 17 5.4 Reopening Criteria 17 5.5 Mechanisms for Reopening 18 5.6 Surveillance of Harvesting Areas 18 6 Investigation of Illness due to Toxic Shellfish Poisoning 19 6.1 Notification 19 6.2 Investigation 19 6.3 Immediate Action for Suspected Toxic Shellfish Poisoning Cases 19 6.3.1 Closures of commercial harvesting areas 19 6.3.2 Control of movement of harvested shellfish 19 6.3.3 Notification 20 6.3.4 Communication 20 6.3.5 Sampling 20 6.3.6 Funding 20 7Product Control 21 7.1 Product Recall 21 7.2 Objectives 21 7.3 Responsibilities 21 7.4 Notification 21 8 References 22 Marine Biotoxin Management Plan iv List of Tables Table 1: Marine Biotoxin Management Plan amendment record. 2 Table 2: Approximate schedule for receiving routine sampling results 15 Table 3: Phytoplankton Action Levels 45 Table 4: Biotoxin regulatory limits for the VSQAP. 47 Appendices Appendix 1: Agency & Personnel Contacts 23 Appendix 2 Communication Network Diagram 25 Appendix 3: Approved Laboratories and Contacts for Phytoplankton Enumeration and Identification 26 Appendix 4: Approved Laboratories and Contacts for Marine Biotoxin Analysis of Shellfish Flesh 27 Appendix 5: Sampling Officers 28 Appendix 6: Marine Biotoxin Analytical Methods 29 Appendix 7: MBMP Sampling Collection Form and Proformas for External Laboratories 30 Appendix 8: Phytoplankton Sampling Procedures 35 Appendix 9: Phytoplankton Species Lists 37 Appendix 10: Toxic Shellfish Poisoning Case Definitions 42 Appendix 11: Phytoplankton Action Levels 45 Appendix 12: Marine Biotoxin Regulatory Levels 47 Appendix 13: Nuisance Phytoplankton Management Protocols 49 Alexandrium spp. 49 Dinophysis acuminata, Dinophysis spp. and Prorocentrum lima 52 Pseudo‐nitzschia spp. 56 Rhizosolenia cf chunii 60 Gymnodinium catenatum 61 Karenia brevis, Karenia cf brevis and Karenia mikimotoi 64 Acronyms 69 Glossary 70 Marine Biotoxin Management Plan v Acknowledgements This project was funded by the Fisheries Division of the Department of Primary Industries (Victoria) and the Victorian aquaculture industry. The project team would like to thank the following people for their valuable input which facilitated the completion of this project: The Department of Primary Industries Peter Appleford Fisheries Victoria (Aquaculture Planning Officer) Primary Industries Research, Victoria Neil Hickman Marine & Freshwater Systems Platform (Senior Scientist, Aquaculture Program) (Formerly: Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute) The University of Tasmania Prof Gustaaf Hallegraeff (Associate Professor in Aquatic Botany) Queensland Health Scientific Services Dr Geoff Eaglesham (Senior Scientist) Cawthron Institute Paul McNabb (Senior Scientist) State Chemistry Laboratories, Victoria Dr Craige Trenerry Food Chemistry Unit Medvet Sciences, IMVS Chris Murray Laboratory Manager) Marlborough Shellfish Quality Helen Smale Programme (Program Manager) Marine Biotoxin Management Plan 1 1 Amendments 1.1 Amendments 1.2 Amendments Record Amendments can be made to this Plan by It is important this Plan is kept up to date by the contacting the coordinator with the suggested prompt incorporation of amendments. changes and reasons for them. To update the Plan, remove the appropriate The co‐ordinator of this Plan is the Aquaculture pages, destroy them and replace with the newly Planning Officer, Fisheries Victoria. issued pages. Instructions will be included in the covering letter when amendments are issued and To become part of this Plan, amendments need to sent. File the covering letter at the back of the Plan be issued with a covering letter. Amendments are and sign off and date this page. identified by the issue number in the page header, by a vertical line in the left margin adjacent to the line(s) that has been changed and in the amendments record in Table 1 below. Amendments will be numbered in sequence. Table 1: Marine Biotoxin Management Plan amendment record. Issue No. Date Initials Marine Biotoxin Management Plan 2 Issue No. Date Initials Marine Biotoxin Management Plan 3 2 Introduction the Marine and Freshwater Resources Institute 2.1 Background (MAFRI)) for Fisheries Victoria, and was funded Some species of marine microalgae entirely by the latter until it was discontinued at (phytoplankton) produce natural toxins which the end of 1996. The program collected surface may accumulate in the tissues of filter feeding water samples and tissue samples on a regular shellfish. Toxic shellfish poisoning (TSP) may basis, analysing the samples for phytoplankton result in humans that have consumed and biotoxin respectively. This sampling regime contaminated shellfish. provided for the monitoring of toxic Within Victoria, four shellfish poisoning phytoplankton species and biotoxins in syndromes are potentially of concern: commercial shellfish harvest areas. WES performed phytoplankton monitoring from • Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) July 1997 until August 1999. During the absence • Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) of a formal VSQAP, the mussel industry, either as the Victorian Mussel Growers Association or as • Diarrhetic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) individual growers, contracted WES to continue • Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning (NSP) phytoplankton and biotoxin monitoring. The potentially causative organisms of these Currently, WES perform all of the monitoring and poisoning syndromes are provided in Section 5.6. reporting components of the VSQAP, and have prepared the Biotoxin Management Plan, The presence of biotoxins in shellfish not only operating under contract to Fisheries Victoria. poses a health risk to consumers but may also PIRVic continues to provide management, adversely impact on the aquaculture industry by technical and research services on behalf of lowering consumer confidence in the harvested Fisheries Victoria. The VSQAP is 67 per cent shellfish product. These risks can be managed by funded by Fisheries Victoria and 33 per cent by