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103D CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 4854

To amend the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 to promote the development

of the aquaculture industry in the United States, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JULY 28, 1994

Mr. STUDDS (for himself and Mr. YOUNG of Alaska) introduced the following

bill; which was referred jointly to the Committees on Merchant Marine

and Fisheries and Agriculture

A BILL

To amend the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 to promote

the development of the aquaculture industry in the

United States, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF4 ERENCES.

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

6 ‘‘National Aquaculture Development Act of 1994’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

8 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents; references.

Sec. 2. Definitions.
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Sec. 3. National aquaculture development plan.

Sec. 4. National aquaculture information center.

Sec. 5. Coordination with the aquaculture industry.

Sec. 6. National strategy for private aquaculture.

Sec. 7. Study, compendium, and recommendations regarding regulations and

permit requirements.

Sec. 8. Disaster assistance for aquaculture producers.

Sec. 9. Aquaculture education.

Sec. 10. Eligibility of aquaculture farmers for farm credit assistance.

Sec. 11. International aquaculture information and data collection.

Sec. 12. Aquaculture information network report.

Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 14. Stylistic consistency.

1 (c) REFERENCES TO NATIONAL AQUACULTURE ACT

2 OF 1980.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, when3 ever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in

4 terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other

5 provision, the reference shall be considered to be made to

6 a section or other provision of the National Aquaculture

7 Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.).

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

9 Section 3 (16 U.S.C. 2802) is amended—

10 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the propaga11 tion’’ and all that follows through the period at the

12 end and inserting ‘‘the controlled cultivation of

13 aquatic plants and animals, except private ranching

14 of Pacific salmon for profit in States where such

15 ranching is prohibited by law.’’;

16 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through

17 (9) as paragraphs (8) through (10), respectively;

18 and
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1 (3) by inserting before paragraph (8) (as redes2 ignated by paragraph (2) of this section) the follow3 ing new paragraph:

4 ‘‘(7) The term ‘private aquaculture’ means

5 aquaculture conducted by a person that is not a

6 Federal, State, or local government agency.’’.

7 SEC. 3. NATIONAL AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

8 (a) AUTHORITIES OF FEDERAL DEPARTMENTS AND

9 AGENCIES.—Section 4 (16 U.S.C. 2803) is amended—

10 (1) in subsection (b) in the matter preceding

11 paragraph (1) by striking ‘‘plan’’ and inserting

12 ‘‘Plan’’;

13 (2) in subsection (b) by redesignating para14 graphs (1) through (6) as paragraphs (2) through

15 (7), respectively; and

16 (3) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as redes17 ignated by paragraph (2) of this subsection) the fol18 lowing:

19 ‘‘(1) clearly outline and define the authorities of

20 the Departments of Agriculture, Interior, and Com21 merce and other relevant Federal agencies, with re22 spect to the development, promotion, and regulation

23 (including environmental regulation) of all aqua24 culture in the United States;’’.
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1 (b) REVISION OF THE PLAN.—Section 4(d) (16

2 U.S.C. 2803(d)) is amended—

3 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and

4 (3) in order as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C);

5 (2) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Secretaries’’;

6 and

7 (3) by adding at the end the following:

8 ‘‘(2) Within 2 years after the date of enactment of

9 the National Aquaculture Development Act of 1994, the

10 Secretaries shall update the Plan, incorporating in the

11 Plan the strategies developed under section 7(b) and giv12 ing particular attention to the requirements of subsection

13 (b)(1) of this section.’’.

14 (c) ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN AQUACULTURE PRO15 GRAMS.—Not later than 1 year after the date of enact16 ment of this Act, the coordinating group established under

17 section 6(a) of the National Aquaculture Development Act

18 of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2805(a)) shall submit to the Congress

19 a report evaluating the actions taken in accordance with

20 subsection (d) with respect to the National Aquaculture

21 Development Plan established under section 4(a) of that

22 Act (16 U.S.C. 2803(a)), and making recommendations

23 for updating and modifying the Plan.

24 SEC. 4. NATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION CENTER.

25 Section 5 (16 U.S.C. 2804) is amended—
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1 (1) in subsection (c)(1)(A) by inserting ‘‘envi2 ronmental impacts,’’ after ‘‘culture techniques,’’;

3 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(B)—

4 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretary shall—’’ and in5 serting ‘‘Secretary—’’;

6 (B) by striking clause (i) and inserting the

7 following:

8 ‘‘(i) may establish, within the Department,

9 within the National Agricultural Library, a Na10 tional Aquaculture Information Center that

11 shall—

12 ‘‘(I) serve as a repository and clear13 inghouse for the information collected

14 under subparagraph (A) and other provi15 sions of this Act;

16 ‘‘(II) carry out a program to notify

17 organizations, institutions, and individuals

18 known to be involved in aquaculture of the

19 existence of the Center and the kinds of in20 formation that the Center can make avail21 able to the public; and

22 ‘‘(III) make available, on request, in23 formation described in subclause (I) (in24 cluding information collected under sub25 section (e));’’;
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1 (C) in clause (ii)—

2 (i) by inserting ‘‘shall’’ before ‘‘ar3 range’’; and

4 (ii) by striking the comma and insert5 ing a semicolon; and

6 (D) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘shall’’ be7 fore ‘‘conduct’’; and

8 (3) in the first sentence of subsection (d), by

9 striking ‘‘Interior,,’’ and inserting ‘‘Interior,’’.

10 SEC. 5. COORDINATION WITH THE AQUACULTURE INDUS11 TRY.

12 Section 6(b) (16 U.S.C. 2805(b)) is amended—

13 (1) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the

14 end;

15 (2) in paragraph (6), by striking the period at

16 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

17 (3) by adding at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(7) establish a working relationship with na19 tional organizations, commodity associations, and

20 professional societies representing aquaculture inter21 ests, in order to facilitate improved communication

22 and interaction among aquaculture producers, the

23 aquaculture community, the Federal Government,

24 and the coordinating group.’’.
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1 SEC. 6. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR PRIVATE AQUACULTURE.

2 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended—

3 (1) by redesignating sections 7 through 11 as

4 sections 9 through 13, respectively; and

5 (2) by inserting after section 6 the following

6 new section:

7 ‘‘SEC. 7. NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR PRIVATE AQUA8 CULTURE.

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries, in coordination

10 with other agencies, as appropriate, shall develop and im11 plement a national strategy for private aquaculture in ac12 cordance with this section. The national strategy shall in13 corporate the department strategies developed under sub14 section (b).

15 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT AQUACULTURE STRATEGIES.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall each

17 develop and implement an Aquaculture Strategy for

18 their respective department to support the develop19 ment of private aquaculture in the United States.

20 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF STRATEGIES.—The strategy

21 under paragraph (1) for each department shall—

22 ‘‘(A) incorporate individual department

23 programs and regulations related to aqua24 culture, including—

25 ‘‘(i) in the case of the Department of

26 Agriculture, programs and regulations re-
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1 lated to livestock, crops, products, and

2 commodities;

3 ‘‘(ii) in the case of the Department of

4 the Interior, programs and regulations re5 lated to fish health, nonindigenous species,

6 fisheries management, hatcheries, fisheries

7 enhancement, and environmental protec8 tion; and

9 ‘‘(iii) in the case of the Department of

10 Commerce, programs and regulations relat11 ed to fisheries research and management,

12 fisheries enhancement, technology transfer,

13 environmental protection, and seafood safe14 ty and quality; and

15 ‘‘(B) include means for effective coordina16 tion and implementation of aquaculture activi17 ties within and among the agencies of the de18 partments and between the departments.

19 ‘‘(3) IMPLEMENTATION.—Within one year after

20 the date of enactment of the National Aquaculture

21 Development Act of 1994, the Secretaries shall sub22 mit the strategies required by this subsection to the

23 Congress and to the coordinating group.

24 ‘‘(c) PRIVATE AQUACULTURE STRATEGY COORDINA25 TION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) RESPONSIBILITY.—The coordinating group

2 shall coordinate strategies, policies, and programs

3 for private aquaculture, including—

4 ‘‘(A) the coordination of interagency

5 functions and activities relating to private

6 aquaculture; and

7 ‘‘(B) the establishment of procedures

8 for the coordination of functions, and con9 sultation, with the coordinating group.

10 ‘‘(2) RESOLUTION OF INTERAGENCY CON11 FLICT.—The coordinating group shall endeavor to

12 resolve any interagency conflict in the development,

13 coordination, or implementation of the national

14 strategy developed under subsection (a).

15 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF AQUACULTURE BY DEPART16 MENT OF AGRICULTURE.—

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, for

18 purposes of all programs of the Department of Agri19 culture, treat private aquaculture as a form of agri20 culture.

21 ‘‘(2) AFFECT ON OTHER AGENCIES.—Para22 graph (1) shall not be construed to amend, repeal,

23 or otherwise modify the authority of any other Fed24 eral agency to perform any function, responsibility,
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1 or activity authorized under any other provision of

2 law.’’.

3 SEC. 7. STUDY, COMPENDIUM, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4 REGARDING REGULATIONS AND PERMIT RE5 QUIREMENTS.

6 Section 11 (as redesignated by section 6(1) of this

7 Act) is amended to read as follows:

8 ‘‘SEC. 11. STUDY, COMPENDIUM, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

9 REGARDING REGULATIONS AND PERMIT RE10 QUIREMENTS.

11 ‘‘(a) STUDY.—Within one year after the date of en12 actment of the National Aquaculture Development Act of

13 1994, the Secretaries, through the coordinating group and

14 incorporating any previous work that has been done by

15 the coordinating group and others, shall conduct a study

16 of Federal and State regulations and permits applicable

17 to the United States aquaculture industry. The study

18 shall—

19 ‘‘(1) include a compilation of all Federal and

20 State regulations and permit requirements applicable

21 to marine and fresh water aquaculture operations;

22 ‘‘(2) include a specific compilation of all Fed23 eral and State regulations affecting the interstate

24 transport of aquaculture products; and
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1 ‘‘(3) identify any duplicative or conflicting regu2 lations.

3 ‘‘(b) COMPENDIUM.—

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Upon completion of the

5 study under subsection (a), the coordinating group

6 shall publish a compendium of all Federal and State

7 regulations and permit requirements applicable to

8 marine and fresh water aquaculture operations in

9 the United States. The compendium shall specifically

10 identify, but shall not be limited to, those Federal

11 and State regulations affecting interstate movement

12 of aquaculture products.

13 ‘‘(2) FORMAT.—The compendium under para14 graph (1) shall be published in a format that can be

15 made easily available to the aquaculture industry.

16 ‘‘(3) UPDATE.—The coordinating group shall

17 periodically update the compendium as necessary.

18 ‘‘(c) FRAMEWORK FOR REGULATION AND PERMIT19 TING.—Based upon the results of the study required by

20 subsection (a), the coordinating group shall develop and

21 recommend to the Secretaries and the Congress a coordi22 nated regulatory and permitting framework for aqua23 culture operations that would result in more coordinated

24 and consistent regulations among States, between States

25 and the Federal Government, and among Federal agen-
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1 cies. In developing the framework, the coordinating group

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(1) consider States that have already devel4 oped coordinated regulatory and permitting proc5 esses;

6 ‘‘(2) ensure that the framework would not com7 promise or diminish the environmental protections

8 and fishery management programs provided by exist9 ing Federal and State laws, regulations, and permits

10 that apply to aquaculture; and

11 ‘‘(3) identify changes that could be made in

12 current State and Federal regulations to achieve

13 such consistency and coordination.’’.

14 SEC. 8. DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR AQUACULTURE PRO15 DUCERS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2244 of the Food, Agri17 culture, Conservation, and Trade Act of 1990 (7 U.S.C.

18 1421 note) is amended—

19 ‘‘(1) in subsection (a)(1)(A)(ii), by inserting ‘‘,

20 if applicable,’’ after ‘‘subsection (d)(2) for such

21 crop’’; and

22 (2) in subsection (d)(1), by inserting ‘‘and

23 aquatic species,’’ after ‘‘was not available for crop

24 year 1990,’’.
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1 (b) LIMITATION.—The amendments made by sub2 section (a) shall apply only to the extent appropriations

3 are made available after the date of enactment of this Act

4 to carry out the amendments.

5 SEC. 9. AQUACULTURE EDUCATION.

6 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is further amended

7 by inserting after section 7 (as added by section 6 of this

8 Act) the following new section:

9 ‘‘SEC. 8. AQUACULTURE EDUCATION.

10 ‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary,

11 in coordination with the Secretary of Commerce and the

12 Secretary of the Interior, may establish a program to ex13 pand and improve aquaculture instruction and curriculum

14 in secondary schools and postsecondary vocational institu15 tions.

16 ‘‘(b) GRANTS AND CURRICULUM.—In carrying out

17 subsection (a), the Secretary may, subject to the availabil18 ity of appropriations—

19 ‘‘(1) make grants to—

20 ‘‘(A) establish and maintain aquaculture

21 learning centers in secondary schools and post22 secondary vocational institutions;

23 ‘‘(B) promote aquaculture technology

24 transfer; and
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1 ‘‘(C) educate consumers and the public

2 concerning the benefits of aquaculture; and

3 ‘‘(2) develop curriculum and supporting mate4 rials on aquaculture farming, field test the content

5 of the curriculum, and supply training to educators

6 at secondary schools and postsecondary vocational

7 institutions on the aquaculture curriculum and ma8 terials developed.

9 ‘‘(c) PRIORITY FOR GRANTS.—In awarding grants

10 under subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall give priority

11 to grants for—

12 ‘‘(1) proposed aquaculture learning centers that

13 can gain access to—

14 ‘‘(A) a commercial aquaculture farm;

15 ‘‘(B) a regional aquaculture center estab16 lished by the Secretary under section 1475(d)

17 of the National Agricultural Research, Exten18 sion, and Teaching Policy of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

19 3322(d));

20 ‘‘(C) an aquaculture research or dem21 onstration facility; or

22 ‘‘(D) a similar venture that wood afford

23 students the opportunity to experience aqua24 culture research and development or commer25 cialization;
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1 ‘‘(2) such centers that can achieve outreach to

2 minority audiences or students in inner-city schools;

3 ‘‘(3) such centers that can foster awareness of

4 aquaculture among consumers and the general pub5 lic;

6 ‘‘(4) such centers that can serve as an aqua7 culture education facility for visiting students par8 ticipating in a field trip or a similar educational ex9 perience for inservice training; and

10 ‘‘(5) such centers that can obtain assistance

11 from non-Federal sources.

12 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION.—A person may not receive a grant

13 under this section for any particular project for more than

14 5 fiscal years.

15 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

16 ‘‘(1) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU17 TION.—The term ‘postsecondary vocational institu18 tion’ has the same meaning given the term by sec19 tion 481(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965

20 (20 U.S.C. 1088(c)), except that the term only in21 cludes an institution that awards an associate degree

22 but does not award a bachelor’s degree.

23 ‘‘(2) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘second24 ary school’ has the same meaning given the term by
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1 section 1471(21) of the Elementary and Secondary

2 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2891(21)).’’.

3 SEC. 10. ELIGIBILITY OF AQUACULTURE FARMERS FOR

4 FARM CREDIT ASSISTANCE.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 343 of the Consolidated

6 Farm and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1991) is

7 amended by striking ‘‘fish farming’’ each place it appears

8 in paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting ‘‘aquaculture (as

9 the term is defined in section 3(1) of the National Aqua10 culture Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2802(1)))’’.

11 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by

12 subsection (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1994.

13 SEC. 11. INTERNATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION

14 AND DATA COLLECTION.

15 Section 502 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978

16 (7 U.S.C. 5692) is amended by adding at the end the fol17 lowing:

18 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION

19 AND DATA COLLECTION.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may estab21 lish and carry out a program of data collection, data

22 analysis, and dissemination of information to provide

23 continuing and timely economic and environmental

24 information concerning international aquaculture

25 production.
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1 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para2 graph (1), the Secretary shall consult with the co3 ordinating group established under section 6(a) of

4 the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C.

5 2805(a)), and representatives of the United States

6 aquaculture industry, concerning means of effec7 tively providing date described in paragraph (1) to

8 the coordinating group and the aquaculture indus9 try.’’.

10 SEC. 12. AQUACULTURE INFORMATION NETWORK REPORT.

11 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

12 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall report to

13 the Congress on the feasibility of expanding current infor14 mation systems at regional aquaculture centers estab15 lished under section 1475(d) of the National Agricultural

16 Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7

17 U.S.C. 3322(d)), universities, research institutions, and

18 the National Agricultural Library, to permit an on-line

19 link between those entities for the sharing of data, publica20 tions, and technical assistance information involving aqua21 culture.

22 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

23 Section 12 (as redesignated by section 6(1) of this

24 Act) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATIONS OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 ‘‘For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this

3 Act, there are authorized to be appropriated—

4 ‘‘(1) to the Department of Agriculture,

5 $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994, 1995,

6 and 1996;

7 ‘‘(2) to the Department of Commerce,

8 $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994, 1995,

9 and 1996;

10 ‘‘(3) to the Department of the Interior,

11 $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1994, 1995,

12 and 1996; and

13 ‘‘(4) to the coordinating group for conducting

14 the study required by section 11(a) and for other

15 functions $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years

16 1994, 1995, and 1996.

17 Funds authorized by this section shall be in addition to,

18 and not in lieu of, funds authorized by any other Act.’’.

19 SEC. 14. STYLISTIC CONSISTENCY.

20 The National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C.

21 2801 et seq.) is amended so that the section designation

22 and section heading of each section of the Act is in the

23 form and typeface of the section designation and heading

24 of this section.

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