I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9226 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of Commerce to 

incentivize domestic seafood processing capacity, to strengthen local seafood supply chains, to prohibit any Federal agency from funding or 

regulating commercial finfish aquaculture operations in the Exclusive 

Economic Zone in the absence of specific congressional authority, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 30, 2024 

Mrs. PELTOLA introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, and Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

of Commerce to incentivize domestic seafood processing 

capacity, to strengthen local seafood supply chains, to 

prohibit any Federal agency from funding or regulating 

commercial finfish aquaculture operations in the Exclusive Economic Zone in the absence of specific congressional authority, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Domestic Seafood Pro3 duction Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DOMESTIC SEAFOOD PRODUCTION. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) ELIGIBLE COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 

7 community’’ means a population census tract— 

8 (A) without processing; 

9 (B) that is historically economically de10 pendent on the coast or ocean; or 

11 (C) that— 

12 (i) has a poverty rate equal to or 

13 greater than 20 percent; or 

14 (ii)(I) if the population census tract is 

15 not located within a metropolitan area, has 

16 a median family income of equal to or less 

17 than 80 percent of the median family in18 come for the State within which the popu19 lation census tract is located; or 

20 (II) if the population census tract is 

21 located within a metropolitan area, has a 

22 median family income of equal to or less 

23 than 80 percent of the greater of— 

24 (aa) the median family income of 

25 the State within which the population 

26 census tract is located; and 


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1 (bb) the median family income of 

2 the metropolitan area within which 

3 the population census tract is located. 

4 (2) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

5 ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ has the meaning given 

6 the term in section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fish7 ery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

8 1802). 

9 (3) MARICULTURE.—The term ‘‘mariculture’’ 

10 means shellfish and aquatic plants grown under con11 trolled conditions. 

12 (4) OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘‘off13 shore aquaculture’’ means any activity related to the 

14 propagation, rearing, or attempted propagation or 

15 rearing, of finfish in the exclusive economic zone. 

16 (5) SEAFOOD.—The term ‘‘seafood’’ means 

17 wild-caught finfish and shellfish. 

18 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

20 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

21 the several States, the District of Columbia, and 

22 each territory and possession of the United States. 

23 (b) ACTION PLAN AND SELECTION OF COMMU24 NITIES.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec3 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Com4 merce, shall develop an action plan to facilitate in5 creased domestic processing of United States-caught 

6 seafood and mariculture. 

7 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The action plan developed 

8 under paragraph (1) shall include— 

9 (A) an identification of communities in 

10 which— 

11 (i) commercial fishing is an economic 

12 driver; and 

13 (ii) there exists a need, and voiced 

14 community support, for the creation of new 

15 (or rehabilitation of existing) seafood proc16 essing infrastructure, including cold stor17 age, to allow those communities— 

18 (I) to effectively process the 

19 catch of the communities locally; and 

20 (II) to provide for the local and 

21 domestic market; 

22 (B) an identification of communities with 

23 existing or developing mariculture operations in 

24 which processing infrastructure is not sufficient 

25 to meet the needs of the mariculture operations; 


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1 (C) a consideration of the diversity of com2 munities, including geographic diversity; 

3 (D) an assessment of the number of com4 munities described in subparagraphs (A) 

5 through (C) that qualify as eligible commu6 nities; and 

7 (E) an analysis of the seafood supply chain 

8 for seafood consumed domestically, including a 

9 carbon footprint. 

10 (3) SELECTION OF ELIGIBLE COMMUNITIES.— 

11 The action plan developed under paragraph (1) shall 

12 include an allocation of a specific amount of funds 

13 for community development projects in eligible com14 munities, without limitation as to geography or loca15 tion, that would be eligible for the grants and coop16 erative agreements under subsection (c). 

17 (4) STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT.—In devel18 oping the action plan under paragraph (1), the Sec19 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Com20 merce, shall provide a meaningful stakeholder en21 gagement process that— 

22 (A) prioritizes outreach and engagement 

23 through methods that effectively reach residents 

24 of eligible communities described in subpara25 graphs (A) through (D) of paragraph (2); and 


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1 (B) provides an opportunity for public 

2 comment regarding a draft of the action plan, 

3 and incorporation of any comments received by 

4 the date that is 60 days after the end of the 

5 public comment period. 

6 (5) TRIBAL CONSULTATION.—In developing the 

7 action plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 

8 consult with federally recognized Indian Tribes and 

9 Alaska Native Corporations and take into consider10 ation each Community Development Quota program 

11 established by or pursuant to section 305(i) of the 

12 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man13 agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1855(i)), as applicable. 

14 (c) GRANTS AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS TO

15 SUPPORT LOCAL SEAFOOD PROCESSING.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using funds made available 

17 under subsection (f), the Secretary shall, for the pe18 riod of fiscal years 2025 and 2026, make competi19 tive grants or enter into cooperative agreements— 

20 (A) to support pilot projects— 

21 (i) for new seafood or mariculture 

22 processing infrastructure in eligible com23 munities selected under subsection (b)(3); 

24 or 


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1 (ii) for the rehabilitation, repair, or 

2 retrofitting of existing seafood or 

3 mariculture processing infrastructure in 

4 such eligible communities; 

5 (B) to host onsite local training, education, 

6 outreach, and technical assistance initiatives for 

7 working waterfront populations in such eligible 

8 communities; or 

9 (C) to provide preference for community 

10 members from such eligible communities in the 

11 startup of pilot seafood or mariculture proc12 essing facilities exclusively designed for serving 

13 domestic and local markets, which shall in14 clude— 

15 (i) entrepreneurship and business 

16 training; 

17 (ii) financial and risk management 

18 training; and 

19 (iii) food safety and recordkeeping. 

20 (2) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a 

21 grant or enter into a cooperative agreement under 

22 paragraph (1), the recipient of the grant or partici23 pant in the cooperative agreement shall be— 


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1 (A) a collaborative State, Tribal, local, or 

2 regionally based network or partnership of pub3 lic or private entities; or 

4 (B) an individual seafood or mariculture 

5 processing company or cooperative. 

6 (3) PRIORITIES.—In making grants or entering 

7 into cooperative agreements under paragraph (1), 

8 the Secretary shall give priority to— 

9 (A) projects that commit— 

10 (i) to sell a substantial quantity of 

11 seafood domestically, as determined by the 

12 Secretary; 

13 (ii) to meaningful local-hire practices, 

14 as determined by the Secretary; 

15 (iii) to avoiding additional overbur16 dening of eligible communities, such as by 

17 minimizing additional vehicular traffic; and 

18 (iv) to supporting innovative transpor19 tation networks to minimize adverse im20 pacts on adjacent communities; 

21 (B) projects that— 

22 (i) colocate with, or supply, commu23 nity fish markets or community-based sea24 food distributors, such as local farmers’ 

25 markets; 


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1 (ii)(I) would retrofit or update exist2 ing infrastructure; and 

3 (II) are zoned for mixed use, such as 

4 a processing plant with an adjacent com5 munity fish market; or 

6 (iii) include Department of Agri7 culture and processor partnerships with 

8 schools or organizations that address food 

9 security and hunger, including food banks, 

10 and establish programs to freeze fish to be 

11 routed to communities in need; and 

12 (C) community-based businesses and orga13 nizations with expertise in working with eligible 

14 communities. 

15 (4) EVALUATION CRITERIA.—In making grants 

16 or entering into cooperative agreements under para17 graph (1), the Secretary shall evaluate, with respect 

18 to applications for the grants or cooperative agree19 ments— 

20 (A) relevancy; 

21 (B) technical merit; 

22 (C) achievability, expertise, and track 

23 record; and 

24 (D) equity and environmental justice im25 pacts. 


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1 (5) REQUIREMENTS.—A grant or cooperative 

2 agreement under paragraph (1) shall be for an 

3 amount and term determined appropriate by the 

4 Secretary. 

5 (6) INTERAGENCY FUNDING.—Any Federal 

6 agency may participate in any grant or cooperative 

7 agreement under paragraph (1) by contributing 

8 funds, if the contributing agency determines that the 

9 objectives of the grant or cooperative agreement will 

10 advance the authorized programs of the contributing 

11 agency. 

12 (7) LIMITATION ON INDIRECT COSTS.—A recipi13 ent of a grant or a party to a cooperative agreement 

14 under paragraph (1) may not use more than 10 per15 cent of the funds received for the indirect costs of 

16 carrying out the grant or cooperative agreement. 

17 (d) EVALUATION OF ACTION PLAN, GRANTS, AND

18 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—Not later than 1 year after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in con20 sultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall submit to 

21 Congress a report evaluating the effectiveness of the ac22 tion plan developed under subsection (b) and the grants 

23 and cooperative agreements made or entered into under 

24 subsection (c), including— 


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1 (1) an assessment of social and economic bene2 fits resulting from projects carried out using those 

3 grants and cooperative agreements; and 

4 (2) recommendations— 

5 (A) to improve the effectiveness of the ac6 tion plan and the grants and cooperative agree7 ments; and 

8 (B) to expand projects carried out using 

9 the grants and cooperative agreements to addi10 tional communities. 

11 (e) PROHIBITION ON OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the 

13 enactment of this Act— 

14 (A) notwithstanding any other provision of 

15 law, the head of a Federal agency may not per16 mit, authorize, or otherwise facilitate offshore 

17 aquaculture; and 

18 (B) the Administrator of the National Oce19 anic and Atmospheric Administration may not 

20 award to any person a grant or other financial 

21 assistance for the purpose of carrying out or 

22 otherwise facilitating offshore aquaculture, ex23 cept in accordance with a law authorizing such 

24 action that is enacted after the date of the en25 actment of this Act. 


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1 (2) EXECUTIVE ORDER 13921.—Section 6 of Ex2 ecutive Order 13921 (85 Fed. Reg. 28471; relating 

3 to promoting American seafood competitiveness and 

4 economic growth) shall have no force or effect. 

5 (f) FUNDING.— 

6 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

7 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

8 this section $45,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

9 2025 and 2026. 

10 (2) RESERVATION OF FUNDS.—Of the amounts 

11 made available under paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) $200,000 shall be used to carry out 

13 subsection (b) during fiscal year 2025, to be di14 vided equally between the Secretary and the 

15 Secretary of Commerce; 

16 (B) $200,000 shall be used to carry out 

17 subsection (d) during fiscal year 2026; and 

18 (C) the remaining amounts shall be used, 

19 subject to paragraphs (3) and (4)— 

20 (i) to carry out subsection (c); or 

21 (ii) for expenses relating to the ad22 ministration of this section. 

23 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more 

24 than 5 percent of the amounts made available to 

25 carry out this section for a fiscal year may be used 


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1 for expenses relating to the administration of this 

2 section. 

Æ 


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