Saving Seafood

Congress urged to back aquaculture

June 19, 2020 — The letter, sent via the umbrella organisation Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS), highlights the opportunities presented by the industry – which is poised for growth that can be expanded here in the US through passage of legislation introduced earlier this year.

It follows the introduction of the bipartisan AQUAA Act in March by Collin Peterson (D-MN) and Steven Palazzo (R-MS), and May’s executive order from the White House which included instructions for the creation of aquaculture “opportunity zones”.

“As millions of Americans are reeling from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the seafood community, like many others, is hurting. But Congress has a unique opportunity to build an American seafood future that can bring us through this challenging time and support a diverse workforce, enhance sustainable ecosystems and guarantee healthful, locally-sourced protein for American consumers while providing opportunities for other US industries, including the agriculture industry,” the letter states.

“At present, the US lags far behind the rest of the world in farmed seafood production. The single biggest reason for that is the lack of a clear regulatory pathway for permitting new projects, a challenging reality that has forced many American businesses to invest in other countries,” it continues.

Read the full story at The Fish Site

Bill pushing for US offshore aquaculture development reintroduced in House

March 12, 2020 — A bill designed to develop and support offshore aquaculture in the United States is getting a second chance at passing in the U.S. House of Representatives this week.

U.S. Representatives Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi) and Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota), House Agriculture Committee Chairman, reintroduced the bipartisan Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act on Wednesday, 11 March.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Aquaculture supporters send letter to Congress

February 7, 2019 — More than 120 seafood industry leaders and other aquaculture proponents have signed on to a letter that was sent to members of Congress on Wednesday, 6 February, urging federal lawmakers to open up opportunities for offshore fish farming.

The letter, sent to legislators by Stronger America Through Seafood, said House and Senate members plan to reintroduce updated versions of the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act. The bills would streamline the permitting process for aquaculture initiatives based in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ).

“It is time for the U.S. to get into the aquaculture game and provide new local sources of sustainable seafood for consumers,” the letter said. “We can do it here, we can do it right and we can do it [now].”

The letter also said the country risks missing out on getting a piece of the growing aquaculture industry, which researchers believe will continue to grow. According to Beyhan de Jong, a Rabobank researcher, the industry produced USD 232 billion (EUR 204.8 billion) in goods in 2016. It stands to grow by another USD 100 billion (EUR 88.3 billion) in less than a decade.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Mississippi’s Palazzo gives US House it’s own offshore aquaculture bill

October 2, 2018 — Those who seek to clarify that the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has authority over offshore aquaculture now have bills in both chambers of Congress, but time is short.

Representatives Steven Palazzo, a Mississippi Republican, and Collin Peterson, a Minnesota Democrat, introduced the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act (HR 6966) on Friday, giving a companion to a similar bill (S. 3138) introduced in June by senator Roger Wicker, a Mississippi Republican.

Both HR 6966 and S. 3138 seek to create an Office of Marine Aquaculture within NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service that would streamline the approval process for new aquaculture facilities in federal waters, three to 200 miles offshore. They would help fund research and extension services for several existing aquaculture priorities.

“The bill would make no changes to current environmental standards, but instead uphold and maintain existing standards,” a press release assures.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Bipartisan aquaculture bill filed in US House

October 1, 2018 — American aquaculture supporters scored a victory late last week as two U.S. congressmen announced the filing of a bill that would give the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration regulatory authority over fish farming in federal waters.

U.S. Reps. Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi) and Collin Peterson (D-Minnesota) introduced the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture, or AQUAA, Act in a joint statement on Friday 28 September. The House bill is a companion piece to a bill with the same name filed earlier this year by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi).

It also comes just days after a federal judge in Louisiana ruled that NOAA Fisheries could not use the Magnuson-Stevens Act to regulate aquaculture in offshore waters.

Prior to that ruling, aquaculture supporters touted the AQUAA Act as a way to streamline the process for which developers received permits for such projects. The procedure, which could require approvals from such agencies as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Transportation, was seen as expensive and burdensome as agencies sometimes could not agree which one should take the lead.

“The United States does not have a comprehensive, nationwide permitting system for marine aquaculture in federal waters. Our bill seeks to rectify this by establishing an office under NOAA that would be charged with coordinating the federal permitting process,” Palazzo said. “It would also fund research and extension services for several existing aquaculture priorities.”

Palazzo had been lined up to be the Republican sponsor of the bill for weeks as an industry trade group sought support from the Democratic side. Stronger America Through Seafood touted Peterson’s bona fides in a statement shortly after the bill was announced.

Read the full story at Seafood Source