Decision
Date
13 June 2019
Application number
APP203795
Application type
Determination of whether or not any organism is a new
organism under section 26 of the Hazardous Substances
and New Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996
Applicant
Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)
Date Application received
15 May 2019
Consideration date
13 June 2019
Considered by
A decision-making committee of the Environmental
Protection Authority (the Committee)1
Dr John Taylor (Chair)
Dr Louise Malone
Purpose of the application
To determine if
Colossoma bidens is a new organism under
section 26 of the HSNO Act
Decision
1.1
The Committee has determined under section 26 of the Hazardous Substances and New
Organisms (HSNO) Act 1996 that
C. bidens is not a new organism for the purposes of the Act.
1 The Committee referred to in this decision is the subcommittee that has made the decision on this application
under delegated authority in accordance with section 18A of the Act.
2
Decision APP203795
1 Application and consideration process
1.2
The application was formally received on 15 May 2019.
1.3
The information that the Committee took into consideration included:
the application; and
the EPA staff assessment report.
1.4
The determination was made in accordance with section 26 of the HSNO Act. Determinations
under section 26 of the HSNO Act do not require public notification.
1.5
In accordance with section 26(5) of the HSNO Act, we identified the Department of
Conservation (DOC) and the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) as the most likely government
departments or Crown entities to hold further relevant information regarding
C. bidens. As such,
we provided these agencies with the opportunity to comment.
1.6
DOC stated that the unconfirmed donation of two pacu specimens “around 1994” is vague and
does not establish beyond doubt the time when the donation occurred. DOC stated their
preference for greater accuracy of the National Aquarium of New Zealand’s acquisitions and
believed the two fish will have presumably been imported as part of a larger consignment of the
species. DOC stated that the evidence presented is inadequate to base a decision on.
1.7
MPI did not provide any comments.
2 Reason for the decision
2.1
For an organism to be determined to be a new organism under section 26 of the HSNO Act, the
organism must be shown to meet section 2A of the HSNO Act.
2.2
The Committee noted that the following section 2A(1) Act criteria were not applicable to this
determination as the species;
has not been prescribed as a risk species (section 2A(1)(b));
has not been approved to be held in containment or released with controls (sections 2A(1)(c)
(ca) and (cb));
is not a genetically modified organism (section 2A(1) (d)); and
has not been eradicated from New Zealand (section 2A(1)(e)).
2.3
The Committee evaluated the available information regarding
C. bidens against the section
2A(1)(a) criterion: a new organism is “
an organism belonging to a species that was not present
in New Zealand immediately before 29 July 1998”.
2.4
The Committee considered the evidence submitted by the applicant to support the case of this
organism being present in New Zealand prior to 29 July 1998.
June 2019
3
Decision APP203795
2.5
The Committee noted that the National Aquarium of New Zealand confirmed in a letter to MPI
that two individuals of
C. bidens were donated by a fish keeper to the aquarium in 1994. In
addition, two individuals of this species were donated to the aquarium in the late 1990s.
2.6
The Committee noted that six individuals of
C. bidens are currently on display at the National
Aquarium of New Zealand which indicates an ongoing presence of this species in New Zealand
since at least 1994.
2.7
In addition, the Committee noted the presence of
C. bidens in the aquarium of Wellington’s
Great India restaurant from 2008 to 2018 which indicated an existing and ongoing presence of
this species in New Zealand.
2.8
Taking into account all the available information, the Committee considered that
C. bidens does
not meet the definition of a new organism as defined in section 2A(1)(a) of the HSNO Act, as
this organism was present in New Zealand immediately before 29 July 1998.
3 Conclusion
3.1
In accordance with section 26 of the HSNO Act, and having regard to the relevant information,
the Committee has determined that
C. bidens is not a new organism for the purpose of the Act.
Signed by:
Dr John Taylor
Date: 13 June 2019
Chair, Decision-making Committee
Environmental Protection Authority
June 2019
