Designation:E1849−96(Reapproved2013)StandardGuideforFishandWildlifeIncidentMonitoringandReporting1ThisstandardisissuedunderthefixeddesignationE1849;thenumberimmediatelyfollowingthedesignationindicatestheyearoforiginaladoptionor,inthecaseofrevision,theyearoflastrevision.Anumberinparenthesesindicatestheyearoflastreapproval.Asuperscriptepsilon(´)indicatesaneditorialchangesincethelastrevisionorreapproval.1.Scope1.1StateandFederalagenciesaswellasindustryhaverequestedguidanceforcollecting,reporting,andinterpretingfishandwildlifeincidentdata.Thisguidecoversplanningandcompletingathoroughinvestigationtodetermineanincident’scause.Recommendationsfordocumentingandreportinginci-dentsareprovided.Asummaryoftheinformationnecessaryforcompletingariskassessmentandinformationonhowfishandwildlifeincidentdataareconsideredforregulatorydeci-sionsarealsoprovided.1.2Severalagenciescollectinformationandmaintaindata-basesregardingfishandwildlifeincidents.Alistofthesedatabasesandthetypesofinformationtheycontainareincluded.Agencieswithregulatoryauthorityrelatingtofishandwildlifeincidentsarelistedandlawspertainingtofishandwildlifeincidentsaresummarized.1.3Forthepurposesofthisguide,afishorwildlifeincidentisdefinedasanallegationofanadverseeffectonnontargetfishandwildlifespecies.Bytoday’sdetectingstandards,adverseeffectsdataareusuallylimitedtomortalities.However,asbiologicalmonitoringimproves,sublethaleffectsdatamaybemorereadilyquantifiableandreported.1.4Thisguideisarrangedasfollows:SectionReferencedDocuments2Terminology3SignificanceandUse4LawsandRegulations4.1BenefitsofMaintainingRecords4.2EcologicalRiskDatabases4.3EcologicalRiskAssessments4.4PrecautionaryStepsandSafety5DeterminingtheCauseoftheIncident6CommonCausesofFishMortality6.1CommonCausesofWildlifeMortality6.2InvestigationofIncidents7QualityControlandStandardOperatingProcedures7.1PlanningFieldInvestigation7.2InteragencyCoordination7.3ChainofCustody7.4ComprehensiveandSystematicCollectionofSamplesandInformation7.5AnalysesofSamples7.6Anal...
