1. (a) Each year, the certified producer or new applicants, must provide documentation of two (2) consecutive years of freedom from certified pathogens from an independent laboratory approved by the United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to test for the listed pathogens.

2. (b) Sampling, analysis, and reporting are to be conducted as follows:

   1. (1)

      1. (A) The sample must be one hundred fifty (150) fish and must include moribund, i.e., sick, fish observed during the sampling process.
      2. (B) It must be collected twice per year:

3. (i) Once during the months of October, November, or December; and

   1. (ii) Once during the months of March, April, or May; and

   2. (2)

      1. (A) Collection of the sample must be overseen by a United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service-accredited DVM.

      2. (B) The collection must be made under the direct observation of the overseer to an extent that the official can attest to the origin of the fish and that the sampling scheme was appropriate to meet the standards detailed below:

         1. (i)
4. (a) (a) The sample should include all of the ponds and grow-out tanks, and the final species and age composition of the sample should reflect the overall composition of the certified fish on the farm.

5. (b)

   1. (1) (b)(1) For example, if the farm has five (5) ponds of koi and ten (10) ponds of goldfish to be certified, the final sample of one hundred fifty (150) fish should be from all of the ponds and should be thirty-three percent (33%) koi and sixty-seven percent (67%) goldfish with each pond of fish equally represented.

   2. (2) (2) For a one hundred fifty (150) fish sample, you would need:

      1. (A) (A) Fifty (50) koi, ten (10) from each of the five (5) ponds; and

      2. (B) (B) One hundred (100) goldfish, about ten (10) from each of the ten (10) ponds.

         1. (c) (c) For farms with more than fifty (50) ponds, all species and sizes of fish must be included in each sample, but the ponds may be sampled in rotation so that all ponds are sampled at least once every two (2) years;
         2. (ii)
6. (a) (a) It is not appropriate to sample fish from shipping and sorting facilities where fish are held for brief periods.

7. (b) (b) The origin of these fish cannot be known with certainty, and they may represent only a very low percentage of the fish lots present on the farm;

   1. (iii) Small numbers of some species may be efficiently captured with a dip net along the pond margin; other species may have to be captured with a small seine;

      1. (iv)
8. (a) (a) In some cases, fish traps are appropriate.

9. (b) (b) They may be placed in the ponds by the farmer but the sampling official must be present to oversee the checking of the traps and the removal of fish from the traps for the sample;

   1. (v) Fish collected and removed from the ponds by the farmer without direct supervision by the overseer are not appropriate; and

      1. (vi) Be sure to include any moribund fish that are observed during the sampling.

         1. (c)

   2. (1) Farms testing positive for a listed certified pathogen may not label or represent their fish as certified until they:

      1. (A) Have undergone a State Plant Board-supervised eradication, disinfection, and reestablishment with fish from a certified source; and
      2. (B) Have then reestablished a two-year history of disease-free inspections according to the rules of this program.
   3. (2) All board fees must be paid during the reestablishment period.

Codification Notes: “DVM” means Doctor of Veterinary Medicine.