Importation and Release of Non-Indigenous Biological Control Agents

Introduction

IPM Florida periodically receives requests for assistance in importing and releasing non-indigenous biological control agents (parasitoids, pathogens and predators) to help control pests of agriculture, natural resources and urban environments. Considerable expertise and specialized facilities are required to accomplish this activity safely, so biological control specialists must be involved. Separate permits are required for importation and for release to the environment, both issued by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ). PPQ Form 526 is used as the application for both importation permits and release permits. Subsequent approval of a permit is also required by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), Division of Plant Industry (DPI). A non-indigenous biological control agent must be imported into a high-security containment facility where thorough host specificity and other testing is conducted in quarantine to assure that the agent is safe to release into the environment. Before releasing an agent from quarantine, a comprehensive risk assessment must be prepared, including detailed information on the proposed action, target pest, biological control agent, environmental and economic impacts of the proposed release, and insects and mites commonly included in shipments as host material. Examples of risk assessment documents can be found below.

The PPQ Web site describes the application process. For biological control agents of weeds, PPQ has a special Technical Advisory Group (TAG). A TAG does not exist for other kinds of natural enemies. PPQ notifies the applicant of approval or rejection of the application and, if approved, the applicant must forward it to the Florida FDACS DPI, for state-level review and approval. If the application is rejected at the federal or state level, the applicant can re-apply with a more complete risk assessment.

University of Florida (UF), Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) faculty members are required to send their risk assessments to the UF-IFAS Review Committee for Biological Control Agent Release (Dr. Richard L. Jones, RLJones@mail.ifas.ufl.edu). This IFAS committee must grant approval before a release permit application (Form 526 Application and the risk assessment) is sent to PPQ. The IFAS review process is as follows:

Protocol for IFAS Review for Biological Control Agent Release
March 10, 2003

This protocol initiates a review process of biological control agents before their release. These agents include parasitoids, pathogens, and predators to control insects, mites, weeds, plant pathogens, or nonnative invasive plant species. The Review is to be conducted before the faculty member applies to USDA-APHIS, DACS or EPA for a Release Permit.

  1. The UF-IFAS Review Committee for Biological Control Agent Release (hereafter, Review Committee) shall conduct the review of all Biological Control Agents before they are released and before the application for release has been sent to permit agencies.
  2. The Review Committee shall be composed of the Assistant Dean for Research, Chair of the Entomology and Nematology Department, Chair of the Plant Pathology Department, Chair of the Agronomy Department, representative from Extension, two faculty members and any ad-hoc members as needed for a specific target pest.
  3. The purpose of this Review process is:
    • To acknowledge and support IFAS’ responsibility to review and evaluate potential biological control releases.
    • To provide internal scientific review and evaluation of the permit application.
    • To assist in improving the permit application.
    • To provide one additional screening that evaluates potential concerns not covered in other reviews.
    • To inform IFAS administration of submissions for a permit.
  4. A faculty member who is developing a permit application for a biological control release agent is required to submit the draft packet for review by the Review Committee six weeks prior to submission to USDA-APHIS or State of Florida DACS. The packet is to be submitted to the Assistant Dean for Research who will send the packet to each member of the Review Committee and oversee the review. This packet should include:
    • Brief description of the proposed action
    • Detailed description of the proposed action
    • Biology of target (host) organism
    • Biology of the natural enemy to be released
    • Host or prey range of natural enemy
    • Expected attainable geographic range in North America of organism to be released
    • Expected environmental effects of the proposed release
  5. The Review Committee shall ask questions, provide comments, and evaluate the application and provide their review to the Assistant Dean for Research. Questions to be answered in the application include but are not limited to:
    • Excluding the target species to be controlled, are any other species at risk?
    • Are better options for control available?
    • Are there any non-intended consequences to people?
    • Has there been an adequate quarantine process?
    • Have related biological control agents created a problem in other situations?
    • Will it compete significantly or detrimentally with a native species?
    • Do you have any other concerns about this release?
  6. The reviews will be compiled and returned to the faculty member. The faculty member will then address the questions and comments in a letter to the Dean for Research. Copies of the reviews and the faculty member’s response will be forwarded to the Review Committee. If necessary, a meeting of the Review Committee with the faculty member will be convened.
  7. After review of the materials, the Dean for Research will approve the forwarding of the release permit application to appropriate agencies.

Examples of Risk Assessment Documents:

Useful Links:

USDA-APHIS-PPQ:

FDACS-DPI: