1. (1) The Department shall describe or illustrate harvesting areas and provide harvesting area classifications as approved, conditionally approved, restricted, conditionally restricted, prohibited, or unclassified as defined herein, including criteria for opening and closing shellfish harvesting areas in accordance with Chapters II and IV of the NSSP Model Ordinance. Copies of the Shellfish Harvesting Area Classification Boundaries and Management Plans, (FDACS-P-01593, Revised August 2022), containing shellfish harvesting area descriptions, references to shellfish harvesting area map numbers, and operating criteria are hereby incorporated by reference, and available online at HYPERLINK "http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-15069" http://www.flrules.org/Gateway/reference.asp?No=Ref-15069, or may be obtained by contacting the Division of Aquaculture, Holland Building, 600 South Calhoun Street, Suite 217, Tallahassee, Florida 32399.

2. (2) Approved harvest areas – An area shall be classified as approved when a sanitary survey, conducted in accordance with Chapter IV of the NSSP Model Ordinance, indicates that pathogenic microorganisms, radionuclides, and/or harmful industrial wastes do not reach the area in dangerous concentrations and this is verified by laboratory findings whenever the sanitary survey indicates the need. Shellfish may be harvested from such areas for direct marketing. This classification is based on the following criteria:

   1. (a) The area is not so contaminated with fecal material or poisonous or deleterious substances that consumption of the shellfish might be hazardous; and,
   2. (b) The bacteriological quality of every sampling station in those portions of the area most probably exposed to fecal contamination shall meet one of the following standards during the most unfavorable meteorological, hydrographic, seasonal, and point source pollution conditions: 1) The median or geometric mean fecal coliform Most Probable Number (MPN) of water shall not exceed 14 per 100 ml., and not more than 10% percent of the samples shall exceed a fecal coliform MPN of 43 per 100 ml. (per 5-tube, 3-dilution test) or 2) The median or geometric mean fecal coliform Most Probable Number (MPN) of water shall not exceed 14 per 100 ml., and not more than 10% percent of the samples shall exceed a fecal coliform MPN of 33 per 100 ml. (per 12-tube, single-dilution test) or 3) The median or geometric mean fecal coliform Membrane Filter (MF) colony forming units of water shall not exceed 14 per 100 ml., and not more than 10% percent of the samples shall exceed a fecal coliform MF colony forming unit of 31 per 100 ml. Harvest from temporarily closed approved areas shall be unlawful.
   3. (c) Offshore state waters greater than three nautical miles from the shore are classified as approved if a sanitary survey, conducted within twelve years, shows there are no pollution sources that will impact the microbiological water quality.
3. (3) Conditionally approved harvest areas – An area shall be classified as conditionally approved when a sanitary survey, conducted in accordance with Chapter IV of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program Model Ordinance, indicates that the area is subjected to intermittent microbiological pollution. The suitability of such an area for harvesting shellfish for direct marketing may be dependent upon attainment of established performance standards by wastewater treatment facilities discharging effluent directly or indirectly into the area. In other instances, the sanitary quality of the area may be affected by seasonal populations, climatic and/or hydrographic conditions, non-point source pollution, or sporadic use of a dock, marina, or harbor facility. Such areas shall be managed by an operating procedure that will assure that shellfish from the area are not harvested from waters not meeting approved area criteria. In order to develop effective operating procedures, these intermittent pollution events shall be predictable. Harvest from temporarily closed conditionally approved harvest areas shall be unlawful.
4. (4) Restricted harvest areas – An area shall be classified as restricted when a sanitary survey, conducted in accordance with Chapter IV of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program Model Ordinance, indicates that fecal material, pathogenic microorganisms, radionuclides, harmful chemicals, and marine biotoxins are not present in dangerous concentrations after shellfish from such an area are subjected to a suitable and effective purification process. The bacteriological quality of every sampling station in those portions of the area most probably exposed to fecal contamination shall meet the following standard: The median or geometric mean fecal coliform Most Probable Number (MPN) of water shall not exceed 88 per 100 ml. and not more than 10 percent of the samples shall exceed a fecal coliform MPN of 260 per 100 ml. (per 5-tube, 3-dilution test) or the median or geometric mean fecal coliform Membrane Filter (MF) colony forming units of water shall not exceed 88 per 100 ml., and not more than 10 percent of the samples shall exceed a fecal coliform MF colony forming unit of 163 per 100 ml. in those portions of the area most probably exposed to fecal contamination during the most unfavorable meteorological, hydrographic, seasonal, and point source pollution conditions. Harvest is permitted according to permit conditions specified in Rule 5L-1.009, F.A.C. Harvest from temporarily closed restricted areas shall be unlawful.
5. (5) Conditionally restricted harvest areas – An area shall be classified as conditionally restricted when a sanitary survey or other monitoring program data, conducted in accordance with Chapter IV of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program Model Ordinance, indicates that the area is subjected to intermittent microbiological pollution. The suitability of such an area for harvest of shellfish for relaying or depuration activities is dependent upon the attainment of established performance standards by wastewater treatment facilities discharging effluent, directly or indirectly, into the area. In other instances, the sanitary quality of such an area may be affected by seasonal population, non-point sources of pollution, or sporadic use of a dock, marina, or harbor facility, and these intermittent pollution events are predictable. Such areas shall be managed by an operating procedure that will assure that shellfish from the area are not harvested from waters not meeting restricted area criteria. Harvest is permitted according to permit conditions specified in Rule 5L-1.009, F.A.C. Harvest from temporarily closed conditionally restricted areas shall be unlawful.
6. (6) Prohibited harvest areas – An area shall be classified as prohibited if a sanitary survey indicates that the area does not meet the approved, conditionally approved, restricted, or conditionally restricted classifications. Harvest of shellfish from prohibited areas shall be unlawful. The waters of all man-made canals and marinas are classified prohibited regardless of their location.
7. (7) Unclassified Area – An area for which no recent sanitary survey exists, and it has not been classified as any area described in subsection (2), (3), (4), (5), or (6), above. Harvest of shellfish from such areas shall be unlawful.
8. (8) The Department is authorized to open and temporarily close approved, conditionally approved, restricted, or conditionally restricted harvest areas for harvesting of shellfish in emergencies as defined herein, in accordance with specific criteria established in operating procedures for predictively closing individual harvest areas, or when harvest areas do not meet the standards and guidelines established by the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.

9. (9) The possession of shellfish in Closed Areas is prohibited.

   1. (a) This subsection shall not apply to harvesters operating vessels containing shellfish, tagged in accordance with Rule 5L-1.007, F.A.C., only if the vessel is proceeding in a continuous and direct route through a Closed Area to a vessel landing area and Shellfish Processor.
   2. (b) This subsection shall not apply to aquaculture leaseholders or Authorized Users, or employees thereof, operating within the boundaries of an authorized aquaculture lease.
10. (10) Operating procedures for predictively closing each harvest area shall be developed by the Department; local agencies, including those responsible for operation of sewerage systems, and the local shellfish industry may be consulted for technical information during operating procedure development. The predictive procedure shall be based on evaluation of potential sources of pollution which may affect the area and should establish performance standards, specify necessary safety devices and measures, and define inspection and check procedures.
11. (11) Shellfish harvesting area numbers are as follows:

Rulemaking Authority 597.020 FS. Law Implemented 597.020 FS. History–New 1-4-87, Amended 8-10-88, 7-9-89, 12-23-91, Formerly 16R-7.004, Amended 7-3-95, 6-18-97, 7-1-97, 7-22-97, 10-12-97, 12-16-97, 12-28-97, 2-12-98, 2-25-98, 7-1-98, 7-20-98, 11-13-98, 12-28-98, 3-18-99, 7-1-99, Formerly 62R-7.004, Amended 6-19-00, 8-9-00, 10-14-01, 8-17-04, 9-28-04, 9-5-05, 6-11-06, 3-11-07, 10-2-07, 4-14-08, 7-28-08, 5-5-09, 6-18-09, 12-28-09, 2-9-11, 8-19-12, 3-23-17, 6-28-18, 9-5-19, 5-4-20, 3-31-21, 1-18-23.