II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3100 

To establish a regulatory system for sustainable offshore aquaculture in 

the United States exclusive economic zone, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 28, 2021 

Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To establish a regulatory system for sustainable offshore 

aquaculture in the United States exclusive economic 

zone, 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. 

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

5 ‘‘Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American 

6 Aquaculture Act’’ or the ‘‘AQUAA Act’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Purposes. 


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Sec. 3. Definitions. 

TITLE I—NATIONAL STANDARDS 

Sec. 101. National standards for sustainable aquaculture. 

Sec. 102. National plan to identify and designate aquaculture opportunity 

areas. 

Sec. 103. Aquaculture outside of an aquaculture opportunity area. 

TITLE II—CORE ACTIVITIES 

Sec. 201. Aquaculture management plans. 

Sec. 202. Offshore aquaculture permits. 

Sec. 203. Research and development grant program. 

Sec. 204. Economic soundness. 

TITLE III—REFINEMENTS 

Sec. 301. Recordkeeping, inspections, and access to information. 

Sec. 302. Marine feed standards. 

Sec. 303. Marine use rights. 

TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS 

Sec. 401. Office of Aquaculture. 

Sec. 402. Support for industry. 

Sec. 403. Outreach and education. 

Sec. 404. Administration. 

Sec. 405. Report and permit terms. 

Sec. 406. Federal coordination. 

Sec. 407. Prohibited acts. 

Sec. 408. Enforcement. 

Sec. 409. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

2 The purposes of this Act are— 

3 (1) to support the development of a sustainable 

4 marine aquaculture industry in the United States 

5 and enhance access to investment capital; 

6 (2) to develop sustainable marine aquaculture 

7 to complement sustainable fisheries and ecosystem8 based management; 

9 (3) to clarify the Federal regulatory regime for 

10 sustainable offshore aquaculture and safeguard the 


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1 marine environment, wild fish stocks, and our coast2 al communities; 

3 (4) to support research and technology develop4 ment to further these goals; 

5 (5) to create new jobs, and support existing 

6 jobs within the seafood industry of the United 

7 States, including jobs for traditional fishing industry 

8 participants; and 

9 (6) to reduce the United States seafood trade 

10 deficit by expanding the domestic supply of seafood 

11 through the production of sustainable offshore aqua12 culture. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘‘aqua16 culture’’— 

17 (A) means any activity involved in the 

18 propagation, rearing, or attempted propagation 

19 or rearing, of cultured species, including the 

20 capture and rearing of broodstock; 

21 (B) does not include the practice of cap22 turing juvenile finfish to rear to maturity in an 

23 aquaculture facility for subsequent commercial 

24 sale; and 


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1 (C) does not include the practice of rearing 

2 and releasing cultured species for the purpose 

3 of enhancing wild populations. 

4 (2) AQUACULTURE STAKEHOLDER.—The term 

5 ‘‘aquaculture stakeholder’’ means owners and opera6 tors of offshore aquaculture facilities, Regional Fish7 ery Management Councils, interstate fisheries com8 missions, conservation organizations, fisheries asso9 ciations, State, county, and federally recognized In10 dian Tribes, and other interested parties. The term 

11 also includes other Federal agencies that have inter12 ests in aquaculture. 

13 (3) COASTAL STATE.—Except as otherwise spe14 cifically provided, the term ‘‘coastal State’’ has the 

15 meaning given the term ‘‘coastal state’’ in section 

16 304(4) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

17 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(4)). 

18 (4) CULTURED SPECIES.—The term ‘‘cultured 

19 species’’ means any species propagated and reared 

20 for marine aquaculture. The term includes larval 

21 marine shellfish species that self-recruit in the off22 shore environment. The term excludes any member 

23 of the class aves, reptilia, or mammalia. 

24 (5) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise speci2 fied by the President in the public interest in 

3 a writing published in the Federal Register, the 

4 term ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means a zone, 

5 the outer boundary of which is 200 nautical 

6 miles from the baseline from which the breadth 

7 of the territorial sea is measured (except as es8 tablished by a maritime boundary treaty in 

9 force or being provisionally applied by the 

10 United States or, in the absence of such a trea11 ty, where the distance between the United 

12 States and another country is less than 400 

13 nautical miles, a line equidistant between the 

14 United States and the other country). 

15 (B) INNER BOUNDARY.—Without affecting 

16 any Presidential proclamation with regard to 

17 the establishment of the United States terri18 torial sea or exclusive economic zone, the inner 

19 boundary of the exclusive economic zone is— 

20 (i) in the case of the coastal States, a 

21 line coterminous with the seaward bound22 ary of each such State, as described in sec23 tion 4 of the Submerged Lands Act (43 

24 U.S.C. 1312); 


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1 (ii) in the case of the Commonwealth 

2 of Puerto Rico, a line 9 nautical miles 

3 from the coastline of the Commonwealth of 

4 Puerto Rico; 

5 (iii) in the case of American Samoa, 

6 the United States Virgin Islands, or Guam, 

7 a line 3 geographic miles from the coast8 lines of American Samoa, the United 

9 States Virgin Islands, or Guam, respec10 tively; 

11 (iv) in the case of the Commonwealth 

12 of the Northern Mariana Islands— 

13 (I) the coastline of the Common14 wealth of the Northern Mariana Is15 lands, until the Commonwealth of the 

16 Northern Mariana Islands is granted 

17 authority by the United States to reg18 ulate all fishing to a line seaward of 

19 its coastline; and 

20 (II) upon the United States 

21 grant of such authority, the line es22 tablished by such grant of authority; 

23 or 


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1 (v) for any possession of the United 

2 States not under clause (ii), (iii), or (iv), 

3 the coastline of such possession. 

4 (C) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this defi5 nition may be construed to diminish the author6 ity of the Department of Defense, the Depart7 ment of the Interior, or any other Federal de8 partment or agency. 

9 (6) HEALTHY TARGET STOCK.—The term 

10 ‘‘healthy target stock’’ means a component of a fish11 ery managed in a similar or equivalent way to fish12 eries managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

13 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 

14 et seq.) or by a United States interstate marine fish15 eries commission, or a component of a fishery tar16 geted for harvest that is not overfished or experi17 encing overfishing. 

18 (7) LESSEE.—The term ‘‘lessee’’ means any 

19 party to a lease, right-of-use and easement, or right20 of-way, or an approved assignment thereof, issued 

21 pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

22 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

23 (8) MULTI-TROPHIC AQUACULTURE.—The term 

24 ‘‘multi-trophic aquaculture’’ means an assemblage of 

25 cultured species grown in close enough proximity to 


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1 one another so that cultured species provide eco2 system services to one another. 

3 (9) OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘‘off4 shore aquaculture’’ means aquaculture conducted in 

5 the exclusive economic zone. 

6 (10) OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE FACILITY.—The 

7 term ‘‘offshore aquaculture facility’’ means— 

8 (A) an installation or structure used, in 

9 whole or in part, for offshore aquaculture; or 

10 (B) an area of the seabed, water column, 

11 or the sediment used for offshore aquaculture. 

12 (11) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise specifi13 cally provided, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec14 retary of Commerce, acting through the Under Sec15 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. 

16 (12) SUSTAINABLY MANAGED FISHERY FOR

17 AQUACULTURE FEED.—The term ‘‘sustainably man18 aged fishery for aquaculture feed’’ means a fishery 

19 that is used for feed and that is managed in such 

20 a manner to maintain healthy target stocks, to pro21 tect marine ecosystem structure, productivity, func22 tion, and diversity, and to minimize impacts to non23 target stocks. 


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1 TITLE I—NATIONAL STANDARDS 

2 SEC. 101. NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE AQUA3 CULTURE. 

4 (a) RELATION TO CURRENT LAW.—Nothing in this 

5 Act shall be construed in derogation of applicable law, and 

6 offshore aquaculture operations shall comply with all ap7 plicable statutes, rules, and regulations. In order to ensure 

8 that implementing regulations for applicable statutes ap9 propriately account for the unique considerations arising 

10 from offshore aquaculture, the Secretary shall comply with 

11 the following: 

12 (1) With respect to regulations administered by 

13 the Department of Commerce or National Oceanic 

14 and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary shall 

15 review such regulations in accordance with this sub16 section and update any regulations as appropriate or 

17 necessary. 

18 (2) With respect to Federal regulations not ad19 ministered by the Department of Commerce or Na20 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 

21 Secretary shall confer with appropriate officials to 

22 review such regulations in accordance with this sub23 section. After such review, the Agency that admin24 isters the regulations may, as appropriate or nec25 essary, update such regulations. 


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1 (b) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—Any designation and 

2 establishment of an aquaculture opportunity area, any 

3 aquaculture management plan prepared, any regulation 

4 promulgated, and any permit granted, pursuant to this 

5 Act, shall— 

6 (1) encourage development of United States off7 shore aquaculture while remaining consistent with 

8 environmental requirements established by law; 

9 (2) be based on the best scientific information 

10 available, taking into account traditional knowledge; 

11 (3) be adaptive to offshore aquaculture develop12 ment, accounting for updates in technology and 

13 changes in environmental conditions; 

14 (4) prefer species that are native or historically 

15 naturalized to the region; and 

16 (5) prioritize the health of cultured species. 

17 (c) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall establish advi18 sory guidelines (which shall not have the force and effect 

19 of law), based on the national standards, to assist in the 

20 development of aquaculture management plans, and regu21 lations promulgated and permits granted pursuant to this 

22 title. 

23 (d) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Secretary shall periodi24 cally review the advisory guidelines established under sub25 section (c), as needed, but not less often than once every 


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1 5 years, to determine whether changed circumstances, ad2 vances in science, or improved management practices war3 rant an amendment or update to the guidelines. 

4 SEC. 102. NATIONAL PLAN TO IDENTIFY AND DESIGNATE 

5 AQUACULTURE OPPORTUNITY AREAS. 

6 (a) RELATION TO CURRENT LAW.—Nothing in this 

7 section shall be construed in derogation of applicable law 

8 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act regulating 

9 or restricting the use of the exclusive economic zone, and 

10 the Secretary shall comply with all such applicable law 

11 when proposing, designating, and operating an aqua12 culture opportunity area under this section. In order to 

13 ensure that implementing regulations for applicable stat14 utes appropriately account for the unique considerations 

15 arising from offshore aquaculture, the Secretary shall 

16 comply with the following: 

17 (1) With respect to regulations administered by 

18 the Department of Commerce or National Oceanic 

19 and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary shall 

20 review such regulations in accordance with this sub21 section and update any regulations as appropriate or 

22 necessary. 

23 (2) With respect to Federal regulations not ad24 ministered by the Department of Commerce or Na25 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 


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1 Secretary shall confer with appropriate officials to 

2 review such regulations in accordance with this sub3 section. After such review, the Agency that admin4 isters the regulations may, as appropriate or nec5 essary, update such regulations. 

6 (b) NATIONAL PLAN.— 

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

8 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec9 retary shall, consistent with this section, develop a 

10 plan and timeline to systematically— 

11 (A) assess the exclusive economic zone; 

12 (B) prepare an inventory of sites suitable 

13 for aquaculture opportunity areas; and 

14 (C) designate aquaculture opportunity 

15 areas. 

16 (2) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary may des17 ignate an aquaculture opportunity area prior to com18 pletion of the entire inventory under paragraph 

19 (1)(B) for locations where the Secretary has com20 pleted the assessment under paragraph (1)(A) and 

21 developed an aquaculture management plan as re22 quired under subsection (f)(1). 

23 (c) ASSESSMENT OF THE EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC

24 ZONE; INVENTORY.—The Secretary shall conduct the as25 sessment and prepare the inventory described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:44 Nov 01, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3100.IS S3100

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1 section (b) using relevant scientific, social, and economic 

2 data, and engagement with aquaculture stakeholders and 

3 the public as provided in subsection (e). In conducting the 

4 assessment, the Secretary may consider a cluster of loca5 tions in close proximity with similar conditions as a single 

6 inventory item, provided that each of the locations meets 

7 the criteria established in this section. Based on the fac8 tors listed in subsection (d) and the national standards 

9 in section 101, the Secretary shall make a determination 

10 based on the totality of the circumstances whether a site 

11 under consideration is suitable for sustainable offshore 

12 aquaculture. If the Secretary determines that a site is 

13 suitable, then the site shall be listed in the inventory, 

14 along with— 

15 (1) a description of the site, including its co16 ordinates and a map; 

17 (2) a thorough evaluation of each factor de18 scribed in subsection (d), and the Secretary’s find19 ings regarding each of those factors; and 

20 (3) an analysis of how these findings justify the 

21 Secretary’s determination that the site is suitable for 

22 sustainable offshore aquaculture. 

23 (d) FACTORS FOR ASSESSMENT.—In order to con24 duct the assessment in subsection (c), the Secretary shall 

25 consider the following factors: 


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1 (1) The oceanographic characteristics of the 

2 site. 

3 (2) The bathymetry and availability of areas for 

4 anchors, moorings, and other gear. 

5 (3) Current and possible future human uses of 

6 the site, and the areas in reasonable proximity to the 

7 site. 

8 (4) Current and possible future conservation 

9 uses of the site, and the areas in reasonable prox10 imity to the site. 

11 (5) Potential impacts to wild fisheries from the 

12 escape of cultured species, or from cultured species 

13 becoming invasive or hybridizing with wild stocks 

14 within the region. 

15 (6) Potential benefits from multi-trophic aqua16 culture, where cultured species provide ecosystem 

17 services to one another. 

18 (7) Availability of shore-side fishery infrastruc19 ture and other land-based support facilities to sup20 port offshore aquaculture operations. 

21 (8) Expected socioeconomic impacts from oper22 ations on adjacent coastal communities. 

23 (9) Other factors that the Secretary determines 

24 are appropriate. 


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1 (e) ENGAGEMENT.—In conducting the assessment 

2 and inventory under subsection (c), the Secretary shall 

3 conduct engagement with aquaculture stakeholders and 

4 the public as follows: 

5 (1) PUBLIC MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS.—The 

6 Secretary shall conduct public meetings to inform in7 terested aquaculture stakeholders about the intent to 

8 include a site in the inventory, share information 

9 about the process, and solicit public feedback, in10 cluding written comments. In addition to public 

11 meetings, the Secretary may, consistent with the 

12 Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.), 

13 convene workshops of particular aquaculture stake14 holders or aquaculture stakeholder groups to provide 

15 insight, information, and comments to support the 

16 assessment and inventory process. 

17 (2) CONSULTATION WITH STATES, TRIBES, AND

18 TERRITORIES.—The Secretary shall consult with 

19 States, federally recognized Indian Tribes, and terri20 tories adjacent to or within 100 miles of a site under 

21 consideration for the inventory. Such States, feder22 ally recognized Indian Tribes, and territories may 

23 submit comments to the Secretary, and the Sec24 retary shall consider such comments in the assess25 ment and inventory process. 


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1 (f) DESIGNATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF AQUA2 CULTURE OPPORTUNITY AREA.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—In order to designate and 

4 establish an aquaculture opportunity area, the Sec5 retary shall select a site from the inventory prepared 

6 under subsection (c), and develop an aquaculture 

7 management plan under section 201. In the event 

8 that the Secretary determines the site is not viable 

9 during the development of the aquaculture manage10 ment plan, the Secretary may abandon consideration 

11 of the site, and revise the inventory accordingly. 

12 (2) STATE PETITION.—The Governor of any 

13 coastal State or territory, or a Tribal government in 

14 a fisheries management region under the Magnuson15 Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

16 (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), may submit a request in 

17 writing to the Secretary to petition for locating an 

18 aquaculture opportunity area, or a group of aqua19 culture opportunity areas, in reasonable proximity to 

20 the location of the requesting State, territory, or 

21 Tribal government. The Secretary shall evaluate the 

22 petition and may designate an aquaculture oppor23 tunity area or group of aquaculture opportunity 

24 areas as provided in this section. 


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1 (3) INITIAL AND SUBSEQUENT ESTABLISHMENT

2 OF AQUACULTURE OPPORTUNITY AREAS.—The Sec3 retary shall initially establish at least 2 aquaculture 

4 opportunity areas from the inventory developed 

5 under subsection (b) not later than 1 year after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act. Each year thereafter, 

7 the Secretary shall establish not less than 1 addi8 tional aquaculture opportunity area from the inven9 tory until all sites from the inventory have been con10 sidered. 

11 (4) ADJUSTMENT OF EXISTING AQUACULTURE

12 OPPORTUNITY AREAS.—The Secretary may adjust 

13 the dimensions of an established aquaculture oppor14 tunity area as necessary, while accounting for im15 pacts to operating aquaculture facilities, the state of 

16 science, the cost-benefit ratio of the adjustment, and 

17 comments from aquaculture stakeholders and the 

18 general public. 

19 (g) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—In order to test 

20 the viability of sustainable offshore aquaculture in a site 

21 listed on the inventory, the Secretary may support dem22 onstration projects in an inventory site to assist in devel23 oping the required contents for an aquaculture manage24 ment plan. Such demonstration projects shall be carried 

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1 ards in section 101. Demonstration projects may include 

2 multidisciplinary research to revive and adapt traditional 

3 aquaculture systems, such as open sea ponds, to support 

4 the needs of modern communities. 

5 (h) STUDY ON AQUACULTURE OPPORTUNITY AREAS

6 IN STATE WATERS.—Not later than 18 months after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct 

8 a study of the feasibility of allowing States to petition for 

9 aquaculture opportunity areas in their waters. The study 

10 shall include information and analysis on the benefits of 

11 aquaculture opportunity areas in State waters and identify 

12 barriers to implementation. 

13 (i) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary may promulgate 

14 regulations governing the process for implementing this 

15 section. 

16 (j) SPATIAL DATA.—To support the implementation 

17 of this section, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad18 ministration shall collect and curate spatial data relevant 

19 to aquaculture and make such data publicly available, un20 less otherwise restricted by law. 

21 SEC. 103. AQUACULTURE OUTSIDE OF AN AQUACULTURE 

22 OPPORTUNITY AREA. 

23 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

24 (1) the term ‘‘site proponent’’ means a non25 governmental entity that assesses a site and develops 


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1 an aquaculture management plan for that site in ac2 cordance with subsection (c); and 

3 (2) the term ‘‘notice of intent’’ means a written 

4 document that communicates the site proponent’s in5 tention to develop an offshore aquaculture site, and 

6 includes the location, type of aquaculture, cultured 

7 species, and other information the Secretary re8 quires. 

9 (b) AQUACULTURE OUTSIDE OF AN AQUACULTURE

10 OPPORTUNITY AREA.—Offshore aquaculture may be con11 ducted outside of an aquaculture opportunity area only as 

12 provided in this section. 

13 (c) PROCESS AND REGULATIONS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

15 a process and promulgate regulations, consistent 

16 with this section, to allow a site proponent to, at its 

17 own expense— 

18 (A) assess sites smaller than an aqua19 culture opportunity area for offshore aqua20 culture in an exclusive economic zone; 

21 (B) develop aquaculture management plans 

22 for those sites; 

23 (C) submit a notice of intent and applica24 tion to the Secretary requesting approval to 

25 conduct aquaculture at the site; and 


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1 (D) apply for a permit under section 202. 

2 (2) PROCESS.—The process developed by the 

3 Secretary shall include— 

4 (A) the process for submitting a notice of 

5 intent, publishing the notice of intent, and solic6 iting comments under subsection (d); 

7 (B) the form of application to be used by 

8 the site proponent; 

9 (C) the required contents of the applica10 tion, including an analysis of the factors in sec11 tion 102(d) and the items in section 201(c); 

12 (D) a process for submitting the comments 

13 received under subsection (d), along with the 

14 disposition of each; and 

15 (E) a timeline for the Secretary’s consider16 ation and action on the application, which may 

17 be either to approve, deny, or request more in18 formation. 

19 (d) NOTICE OF INTENT.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

21 each site proponent that is assessing a site under 

22 subsection (c)(1) to submit a notice of intent before 

23 developing an aquaculture management plan or sub24 mitting an application under this section. The SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 17:44 Nov 01, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3100.IS S3100

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1 retary, acting through the National Oceanic and At2 mospheric Administration, shall— 

3 (A) publish the notice of intent, together 

4 with information on the process under sub5 section (c)(2); 

6 (B) deliver the notice of intent, together 

7 with information on the process under sub8 section (c)(2), to— 

9 (i) States and federally recognized In10 dian Tribes within 100 miles of the pro11 posed site; and 

12 (ii) any local governments within 10 

13 miles of the proposed site; 

14 (C) convene meetings with aquaculture 

15 stakeholders and the public— 

16 (i) to solicit public comment, including 

17 written comments, to be shared with the 

18 site proponent; and 

19 (ii) including, at a minimum— 

20 (I) at least 1 public meeting for 

21 aquaculture stakeholders; and 

22 (II) meetings with State, local, 

23 and Tribal government representa24 tives; and 


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1 (D) consult with interested Federal agen2 cies. 

3 (2) COMMENTS.—States, federally recognized 

4 Indian Tribes, and local governments described in 

5 paragraph (1)(B) may submit comments on the no6 tice of intent to the Secretary, which shall be shared 

7 with the site proponent. 

8 (e) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Each site proponent shall 

9 include all comments received under subsection (d) in the 

10 aquaculture management plan, along with a disposition of 

11 each. 

12 TITLE II—CORE ACTIVITIES 

13 SEC. 201. AQUACULTURE MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

14 (a) DEVELOPMENT AND ADOPTION.—In order to im15 plement this Act, the Secretary shall develop and adopt 

16 for aquaculture opportunity areas established under sec17 tion 102, or locations where multiple aquaculture oppor18 tunity areas may be suitable for establishment— 

19 (1) an aquaculture management plan; and 

20 (2) amendments to each such plan that are nec21 essary from time to time. 

22 (b) OVERLAPPING MANAGEMENT AREAS.—The Sec23 retary may use a single aquaculture management plan for 

24 multiple aquaculture opportunity areas where such areas 


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1 are within reasonable proximity to each other and suffi2 ciently similar. 

3 (c) ENGAGEMENT.—Prior to developing, adopting, or 

4 amending an aquaculture management plan under this 

5 section, the Secretary, acting through the National Oce6 anic and Atmospheric Administration, shall meet with 

7 aquaculture stakeholders and the public to solicit their 

8 comments, and consult with interested Federal agencies. 

9 Such comments shall be duly reported in an addendum 

10 to the aquaculture management plan, along with a disposi11 tion of each. At a minimum, meetings under this sub12 section shall include— 

13 (1) at least one public meeting for aquaculture 

14 stakeholders; and 

15 (2) meetings with State, local, and Tribal gov16 ernment representatives. 

17 (d) REQUIRED CONTENTS.—An aquaculture manage18 ment plan that is prepared by the Secretary under this 

19 title shall— 

20 (1) include information and analysis that the 

21 Secretary determines is appropriate to establish 

22 common reference points for conducting aquaculture 

23 in the aquaculture opportunity area; 

24 (2) specify parameters and guidance for con25 ducting aquaculture in the aquaculture opportunity 


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1 area, based on the information and analysis under 

2 paragraph (1), including— 

3 (A) the geographic boundaries of the aqua4 culture opportunity area; 

5 (B) the number of sites that each aqua6 culture opportunity area will support; 

7 (C) the species allowed for aquaculture in 

8 the aquaculture opportunity area; 

9 (D) standards for the structural integrity 

10 of aquaculture facilities to prevent the escape of 

11 cultured species; and 

12 (E) contingency plans that will be re13 quired, along with standards for such plans, for 

14 events including— 

15 (i) severe weather; 

16 (ii) escape of cultured species; 

17 (iii) situations affecting, or compro18 mising, the health of cultured species; and 

19 (iv) other contingencies the Secretary 

20 identifies; 

21 (3) describe how the Secretary will monitor as22 pects of aquaculture in the aquaculture opportunity 

23 area in order to support compliance with this Act, 

24 including— 

25 (A) escape of cultured species; 


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1 (B) situations affecting, or compromising, 

2 the health of cultured species; 

3 (C) the economic and commercial produc4 tivity of the aquaculture opportunity area; and 

5 (D) other matters the Secretary identifies; 

6 and 

7 (4) prescribe such other measures, require8 ments, or conditions and restrictions as are deter9 mined to be necessary and appropriate for imple10 mentation of this Act. 

11 (e) IMPLEMENTING REGULATIONS.—The Secretary 

12 shall develop and adopt regulations determined to be nec13 essary and appropriate to implement an aquaculture man14 agement plan or plan amendment developed under this 

15 section. 

16 (f) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Secretary shall periodi17 cally review plans developed under subsection (a) as need18 ed, but not less often than once every 5 years, to deter19 mine whether changed circumstances, advances in science, 

20 or improved management practices warrant an amend21 ment or update to the plan. 

22 SEC. 202. OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE PERMITS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—After the Secretary promulgates 

24 final regulations under section 404(a), the Secretary may 


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1 issue an offshore aquaculture permit if the Secretary de2 termines that— 

3 (1) the proposed offshore aquaculture facility, 

4 type of aquaculture operation, and cultured species 

5 are consistent with the purposes in section 2 and the 

6 national standards for sustainable offshore aqua7 culture in section 101; 

8 (2) the proposed offshore aquaculture facility, 

9 type of aquaculture operation, and cultured species 

10 are consistent with an established aquaculture man11 agement plan, or the permit applicant has provided 

12 the Secretary with sufficient information and anal13 ysis, such as would be included in an established 

14 aquaculture management plan, to merit issuance, if 

15 the permit is intended to be located outside of an 

16 aquaculture opportunity area; 

17 (3) the applicant is able to comply with this Act 

18 and any terms and conditions prescribed under sec19 tion 404(a), is financially responsible, and will oper20 ate the offshore aquaculture facility using the best 

21 practicable technology and maintain it in good work22 ing order; and 

23 (4) issuance of the offshore aquaculture permit 

24 is not prohibited under section 407. 


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1 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—An offshore aqua2 culture permit holder shall be authorized to conduct off3 shore aquaculture consistent with— 

4 (1) this Act, including regulations promulgated 

5 to carry out this Act; 

6 (2) other applicable provisions of law, including 

7 regulations; and 

8 (3) any terms or conditions imposed by the Na9 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

10 (c) PERMIT PROCEDURE.— 

11 (1) APPLICATION.—An applicant for an off12 shore aquaculture permit shall submit an application 

13 to the Secretary. The application shall specify— 

14 (A) the proposed location of the offshore 

15 aquaculture facility and the location of on-shore 

16 facilities used for propagation or rearing of cul17 tured species, such as hatcheries or research op18 erations; 

19 (B) the type of aquaculture operations that 

20 will be conducted at all facilities described in 

21 subparagraph (A); 

22 (C) the cultured species, or a specified 

23 range of species, to be propagated or reared, or 

24 both, at the offshore aquaculture facility; 


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1 (D) the source of eggs, larvae, or juvenile 

2 cultured species that will be used in aquaculture 

3 operations, an analysis of the likely impacts on 

4 wild populations and habitats, such as preven5 tion of the spread of pathogens, and the infor6 mation upon which the assessment was made; 

7 (E) plans to respond to— 

8 (i) a natural disaster; 

9 (ii) an escapement; 

10 (iii) disease; and 

11 (iv) other circumstances designate by 

12 the Secretary; and 

13 (F) such other design, construction, and 

14 operational information as the Secretary may 

15 require to ensure the integrity of the applicant’s 

16 operations and contingency planning. 

17 (2) NOTICE.—Whenever the National Oceanic 

18 and Atmospheric Administration receives an offshore 

19 aquaculture permit application, the Secretary shall— 

20 (A) provide notice and a copy of the appli21 cation to the Governor of every State or terri22 tory adjacent to or within 100 miles of the pro23 posed site and to the federally recognized In24 dian Tribes within those States; and 


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1 (B) provide public notice and an oppor2 tunity for public comment for a period of not 

3 less than 60 days for each offshore aquaculture 

4 permit application. 

5 (3) COMMENTS AND CONSULTATION.—The Sec6 retary shall take any comments submitted by Gov7 ernors and the public into consideration, and shall 

8 consult with interested aquaculture stakeholders as 

9 warranted before making a final decision on the dis10 position of an offshore aquaculture permit applica11 tion. 

12 (4) DEADLINES FOR CONSIDERATION OF APPLI13 CATIONS FOR PERMITS.—Not later than 30 days 

14 after the date on which the Secretary receives an 

15 offshore aquaculture permit application, the Sec16 retary shall— 

17 (A) notify the applicant that the applica18 tion is complete; or 

19 (B) notify the applicant that information is 

20 missing and specify any information that is re21 quired to be submitted for the application to be 

22 complete. 

23 (5) ISSUANCE OR DEFERRAL.—Not later than 

24 90 days after the period for public comments on a 


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1 completed application has concluded, the Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 (A) issue the permit, if the application 

4 complies with the provisions of this Act, includ5 ing the national standards for sustainable off6 shore aquaculture in section 101, requirements 

7 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

8 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and other appli9 cable law; 

10 (B) defer the decision on the permit, if the 

11 Secretary determines that the application can 

12 be improved to meet the requirements of para13 graph (1), and provide to the applicant a notice 

14 that specifies any steps that the applicant could 

15 take for the permit to be issued; or 

16 (C) deny the permit, providing a justifica17 tion for the Secretary’s determination that the 

18 application does not meet the requirements of 

19 paragraph (1), or any other applicable law, and 

20 that these issues cannot be remediated. 

21 (6) EXTENSION OF REVIEW.—The Secretary 

22 may extend the review period for an additional 90 

23 days if the Secretary determines that further time is 

24 needed to analyze the application. The Secretary 

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1 tension provided in the preceding sentence if the 

2 Secretary determines that the Department of Com3 merce needs more time to comply with applicable 

4 Federal law, provided that the Secretary’s deter5 mination states the specific actions the Department 

6 must undertake, together with deadlines for com7 pleting such actions. 

8 (d) PERMIT REQUIREMENTS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An offshore aquaculture per10 mit holder shall be— 

11 (A) a citizen or permanent resident of the 

12 United States; or 

13 (B) a corporation, partnership, or other 

14 entity that— 

15 (i) is organized and existing under the 

16 laws of the United States or a U.S. State; 

17 and 

18 (ii) is not owned by a foreign nation 

19 or majority-controlled by a foreign nation. 

20 (2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—Subject to sub21 section (n), the Secretary shall— 

22 (A) prescribe the terms and conditions that 

23 apply to each offshore aquaculture permit to 

24 achieve the national standards for sustainable 

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1 plicable aquaculture management plan and im2 plementing regulations developed under section 

3 201; and 

4 (B) specify in each offshore aquaculture 

5 permit the duration, size, and location of the 

6 offshore aquaculture facility. 

7 (3) STATUTES AND REGULATIONS.—Offshore 

8 aquaculture permits are subject to this Act, regula9 tions promulgated pursuant thereto, and other stat10 utes and regulations in existence upon the effective 

11 date of the permit. When promulgating regulations, 

12 the Secretary shall indicate whether and to what ex13 tent the regulations apply to existing offshore aqua14 culture permits. 

15 (e) DURATION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), an offshore aquaculture permit shall have 

18 an initial 15-year duration, and may be renewed 

19 subject to the terms of this Act. 

20 (2) EXCEPTIONS.— 

21 (A) AQUACULTURE OPPORTUNITY

22 AREAS.—A permit issued for offshore aqua23 culture to be conducted in an aquaculture op24 portunity area as provided in section 102 shall 

25 have an initial 25-year duration. 


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1 (B) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF.—The 

2 Secretary shall develop the duration of an off3 shore aquaculture permit subject to subsection 

4 (o)(1), in consultation with the Secretary of the 

5 Interior, except that the permit shall expire not 

6 later than the date that the lessee or the les7 see’s operator submits, to the Secretary of the 

8 Interior, a final application for the decommis9 sioning and removal of an existing facility upon 

10 which an offshore aquaculture facility is lo11 cated. 

12 (f) TRANSFER.—A permit may be transferred as pro13 vided under this subsection, provided that the permit is 

14 still valid, and has not been amended due to emergency 

15 circumstances. To propose a transfer, a permittee shall 

16 submit an application to the Secretary, and the Secretary 

17 shall review and make a determination of whether to ap18 prove, deny, or request additional information not later 

19 than 60 days after the date of receipt of the application. 

20 The application shall include— 

21 (1) notice to the Secretary of the intention to 

22 transfer; 

23 (2) the reason for the transfer; 


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1 (3) the identity of the transferee, and whether 

2 the transferee holds, has held, or is applying for a 

3 permit under this Act; 

4 (4) the transferee’s assumption of responsi5 bility, coverage, and liability for activities performed 

6 under the permit, as of the effective date of the 

7 transfer; and 

8 (5) any additional information requested by the 

9 Secretary. 

10 (g) RENEWAL.—The Secretary may renew an off11 shore aquaculture permit that has not been revoked for 

12 an additional 15-year period, as provided in subsection (e), 

13 before the end of the original permit’s duration, if— 

14 (1) the permit or amended permit complies with 

15 existing requirements; 

16 (2) the permit holder has not been subject to 

17 sanctions under section 408 or committed a prohib18 ited act under such section; 

19 (3) the permit has not been modified because of 

20 emergency considerations; and 

21 (4) notice under subsection (c)(2) has been 

22 given. 

23 (h) REVOCATION.—The Secretary may, pursuant to 

24 regulations issued under this Act, revoke an offshore 

25 aquaculture permit, if— 


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1 (1) the permit holder commits a prohibited act 

2 under section 407; 

3 (2) the permit holder fails to begin offshore 

4 aquaculture operations within 2 years from the date 

5 the required Federal permits are obtained; or 

6 (3) there is an interruption of offshore aqua7 culture operations of at least 2 years in duration 

8 that is unrelated to best management practices. 

9 (i) EXPIRATION OR REVOCATION.—Not later than 1 

10 year after the expiration or revocation of an offshore aqua11 culture permit, a permit holder shall— 

12 (1) remove all structures, gear, and other prop13 erty from the offshore aquaculture facility site; and 

14 (2) take such other measures to restore the site, 

15 as the Secretary considers necessary. 

16 (j) EMERGENCY DETERMINATION.—If the Secretary 

17 determines that an emergency exists that poses a signifi18 cant risk to the safety of humans, to the marine environ19 ment, to cultured species, or to the security of the United 

20 States and that requires suspension, modification, or rev21 ocation of an offshore aquaculture permit, the Secretary 

22 may suspend, modify, or revoke the permit for such time 

23 as the Secretary determines is necessary to address the 

24 emergency. The Secretary shall afford the permit holder 

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1 ocation opportunity to be heard regarding the suspension, 

2 modification, or revocation. 

3 (k) FEES.— 

4 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may es6 tablish, by regulation, application fees and an7 nual offshore aquaculture permit fees under 

8 this section. 

9 (B) DEPOSIT AND COLLECTION.—The fees 

10 described in subparagraph (A) shall be depos11 ited as offsetting collections in the operations, 

12 research, and facilities account of the National 

13 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Fees 

14 may be collected and made available to the ex15 tent provided in advance in appropriation Acts. 

16 (C) SETTING OF FEES.—The fees de17 scribed in subparagraph (A) shall be set as an 

18 amount such that the total revenue from such 

19 fees does not exceed the amount required to 

20 cover the costs of management, data collection, 

21 analysis, annual inspection, and enforcement 

22 activities related to permits under this section. 

23 (2) WAIVERS.—The Secretary may waive, in 

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1 shore aquaculture facility is used primarily for re2 search. 

3 (3) GUARANTEES.—The Secretary shall require 

4 a permit holder to post a bond or other form of fi5 nancial guarantee in an amount determined by the 

6 Secretary, to be reasonable and commensurate with 

7 the offshore aquaculture operation and as sufficient 

8 to cover, without duplication— 

9 (A) any unpaid fees; 

10 (B) the cost of removing an offshore aqua11 culture facility at the expiration or revocation of 

12 an offshore aquaculture permit; or 

13 (C) the cost of site remediation for impacts 

14 arising from authorized activities. 

15 (l) MAGNUSON-STEVENS FISHERY CONSERVATION

16 AND MANAGEMENT ACT.—Beginning on the effective date 

17 of the final regulations promulgated under section 404, 

18 the conduct of offshore aquaculture that is in accordance 

19 with an offshore aquaculture permit issued under this sec20 tion shall not be considered fishing for purposes of the 

21 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage22 ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), but shall be considered 

23 a fishery under section 3 of the Marine Mammal Protec24 tion Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1362). 


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1 (m) COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER USES.—Each 

2 Federal agency implementing this section, person subject 

3 to this section, and coastal State seeking to review a per4 mit application under this section shall comply with the 

5 applicable provisions of the Coastal Zone Management Act 

6 of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), including regulations 

7 promulgated to carry out such Act. 

8 (n) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—An offshore aqua9 culture permit issued under this section shall not super10 sede or substitute for any other authorization required 

11 under Federal or State laws. 

12 (o) ACTIONS AFFECTING THE OUTER CONTINENTAL

13 SHELF.— 

14 (1) NOTIFICATION OF SECRETARY OF THE IN15 TERIOR.—The Secretary shall notify the Secretary 

16 of the Interior for each application for an offshore 

17 aquaculture permit that is located on the outer con18 tinental shelf. 

19 (2) PRIOR CONSENT REQUIRED.—An offshore 

20 aquaculture facility may not be located on a lease, 

21 right-of-use and easement, or right-of-way author22 ized or permitted under the Outer Continental Shelf 

23 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) without the 

24 prior consent of any lessee and other owner of oper25 ating interest. 


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1 (3) COMPLIANCE REVIEW.—The Secretary of 

2 the Interior shall review each agreement between a 

3 prospective offshore aquaculture operator and a les4 see. The Secretary of the Interior shall approve such 

5 agreement if it is consistent with the Federal lease 

6 terms, the Department of the Interior regulations, 

7 and the Secretary of the Interior’s role in the protec8 tion of the marine environment, property, and 

9 human life or health. An agreement under this sub10 section shall— 

11 (A) be part of the information reviewed 

12 under paragraph (4); and 

13 (B) not be subject to a separate Coastal 

14 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

15 1451 et seq.) review. 

16 (4) COORDINATED COASTAL ZONE MANAGE17 MENT ACT REVIEW.— 

18 (A) STATE REVIEW.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—A coastal State’s 

20 review under the Coastal Zone Manage21 ment Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.) 

22 shall include any modification or change to 

23 a lessee’s approved plan that results from, 

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1 shore aquaculture permit if the State si2 multaneously receives— 

3 (I) the information related to the 

4 modification or change; and 

5 (II) the offshore aquaculture per6 mit applicant’s consistency certifi7 cation. 

8 (ii) SIMULTANEOUS RECEIPT.—If the 

9 coastal State simultaneously receives the 

10 information related to a modification or 

11 change to a lessee’s approved plan and the 

12 offshore aquaculture permit applicant’s 

13 consistency certification, then— 

14 (I) a lessee shall not be required 

15 to submit a separate consistency cer16 tification for the modification or 

17 change under section 307(c)(3)(B) of 

18 the Coastal Zone Management Act of 

19 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1456(c)(3)(B)); and 

20 (II) the coastal State’s concur21 rence (or presumed concurrence) or 

22 objection to the consistency certifi23 cation for the offshore aquaculture 

24 permit under section 307(c)(3)(A) of 

25 such Act shall apply both— 


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1 (aa) to the offshore aqua2 culture permit; and 

3 (bb) to any related modifica4 tion or change to a lessee’s plan 

5 approved under the Outer Conti6 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 

7 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

8 (B) STATE REVIEW UNDER SECTION

9 307(C)(3)(B) OF THE COASTAL ZONE MANAGE10 MENT ACT OF 1972.—To the extent that a 

11 coastal State is not authorized by section 

12 307(c)(3)(A) of the Coastal Zone Management 

13 Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1456(c)(3)(A)) to re14 view an offshore aquaculture permit application 

15 submitted under this Act, then a modification 

16 or change to a lessee’s approved plan shall be 

17 subject to coastal State review under section 

18 307(c)(3)(B) of such Act if a consistency cer19 tification for the modification or change is re20 quired under applicable Federal regulations. 

21 (C) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

22 (i) LESSEE’S APPROVED PLAN.—The 

23 term ‘‘lessee’s approved plan’’ includes a 

24 document for which a consistency certifi25 cation is required under applicable Federal 


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1 regulations, such as a change to the ap2 proved plan for decommissioning a facility. 

3 (ii) OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE PERMIT

4 APPLICANT.—The term ‘‘offshore aqua5 culture permit applicant’’ means an appli6 cant for an offshore aquaculture permit 

7 under this section that— 

8 (I) will locate the proposed facil9 ity in an area that would require con10 sent from the lessee as described in 

11 paragraph (2); and 

12 (II) is required to submit a con13 sistency certification for its offshore 

14 aquaculture application under section 

15 307(c)(3)(A) of the Coastal Zone 

16 Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 

17 1456(c)(3)(A)) to the coastal State. 

18 (iii) OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE PER19 MIT APPLICATION.—The term ‘‘offshore 

20 aquaculture permit application’’ means an 

21 application for an offshore aquaculture 

22 permit under this section that will locate 

23 the proposed facility in an area that would 

24 require consent from the lessee as de25 scribed in paragraph (2). 


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1 (5) JOINT AND SEVERAL LIABILITY.—For off2 shore aquaculture located on a facility described 

3 under this subsection, a permit holder and each 

4 party that is or was a lessee of the lease on which 

5 the facility is located during the term of the offshore 

6 aquaculture permit shall be jointly and severally lia7 ble for the removal of any construction or modifica8 tion related to the offshore aquaculture operations if 

9 a bond or other form of financial guarantee under 

10 subsection (j)(3) for aquaculture operations is insuf11 ficient to cover those obligations. This paragraph 

12 shall not affect any obligation to decommission the 

13 facility under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

14 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

15 (6) ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

17 Interior may, to carry out this subsection— 

18 (i) promulgate rules and regulations 

19 as necessary and appropriate; 

20 (ii) require and enforce any additional 

21 terms or conditions that the Secretary of 

22 the Interior considers necessary to ensure 

23 the compatibility of aquaculture operations 

24 with activities for which permits, author25 izations, leases, negotiated agreements, 


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1 right-of-way, or right-of-use and easement 

2 were issued under the Outer Continental 

3 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.); 

4 (iii) issue an order to an offshore 

5 aquaculture permit holder to take any ac6 tion the Secretary of the Interior considers 

7 necessary to ensure safe operations on the 

8 facility, and to protect the marine environ9 ment, property, or human life or health; 

10 (iv) require and enforce any additional 

11 terms or conditions that the Secretary of 

12 the Interior considers necessary— 

13 (I) to protect the marine environ14 ment, property, or human life or 

15 health; and 

16 (II) to ensure the compatibility of 

17 aquaculture operations with activities 

18 for which permits were issued under 

19 the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

20 Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.); and 

21 (v) enforce all requirements contained 

22 in the regulations, lease terms and condi23 tions, and orders under the Outer Conti24 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et 

25 seq.). 


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1 (B) INTERPRETATION.—Failure to comply 

2 with any order issued under subparagraph 

3 (A)(iii) shall constitute a violation of the Outer 

4 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 

5 et seq.). 

6 (p) ASSURANCE OF ANIMAL HEALTH.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this section shall 

8 affect the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture 

9 to— 

10 (A) carry out the Animal Health Protec11 tion Act (7 U.S.C. 8301 et seq.) with respect to 

12 cultured species in the exclusive economic zone; 

13 or 

14 (B) operate as the lead Federal agency for 

15 providing animal health oversight for cultured 

16 species in the exclusive economic zone, including 

17 animal health and disease risk assessments. 

18 (2) CONTINGENCY PLANS.—As part of an appli19 cation for a permit for offshore aquaculture or as 

20 part of an aquaculture management plan established 

21 in section 201, the Secretary of Agriculture may ap22 prove contingency plans, along with standards for 

23 such plans, for events relating to situations affecting 

24 the health of cultured species. 


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1 (3) CRITERIA FOR PRACTICING VETERINARY

2 MEDICINE IN WATERS OUTSIDE STATE JURISDIC3 TION.—A veterinarian may practice veterinary medi4 cine in waters outside State jurisdiction if the veteri5 narian— 

6 (A) is licensed and in good standing to 

7 practice veterinary medicine in any State; 

8 (B) holds a category II veterinary accredi9 tation from the Animal and Plant Health In10 spection Service; and 

11 (C) has a valid veterinarian client-patient 

12 relationship with the facility in which the indi13 vidual is practicing veterinary medicine. 

14 (q) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this Act shall su15 persede permit applications in process on the date of en16 actment of this Act or permits that are in place on the 

17 date of enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 203. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANT PRO19 GRAM. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish, in 

21 consultation with applicable Federal agencies, coastal 

22 States, federally recognized Indian Tribes, Regional Fish23 ery Management Councils, academic institutions, and in24 terested aquaculture stakeholders, a research and develop25 ment grant program to further the purposes of this Act. 


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1 In carrying out this subsection, the Secretary shall con2 sider using existing programs that leverage State and local 

3 partnerships and take advantage of the extramural re4 search community, including the National Sea Grant Col5 lege Program under the National Sea Grant College Pro6 gram Act (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.). 

7 (b) COMPONENTS.—The research and development 

8 grant program described in subsection (a) shall include re9 search conducted internally by the National Oceanic and 

10 Atmospheric Administration, and through the award of 

11 competitive, peer-reviewed grants to fund research and ex12 tension services— 

13 (1) to create innovative design and engineering 

14 solutions to common obstacles within the offshore 

15 aquaculture industry; 

16 (2) to enable the transition of innovative aqua17 culture technologies, including technologies focused 

18 on the commercialization of high-value marine spe19 cies, from controlled studies to commercial use; 

20 (3) to evaluate the role of genetics in relation 

21 to the development of improved lines of brood stock, 

22 disease resistance, and interactions between cultured 

23 species and wild stocks; 


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1 (4) to advance research into the management, 

2 mitigation, and prevention of cultured species dis3 eases; 

4 (5) to develop cost-effective feeds to optimize 

5 the sustainable use of protein and lipid sources origi6 nating from wild fish, plants, and other sources, 

7 maximize growth and production performance of cul8 tured species, prevent the spread of pathogens and 

9 parasites, and maintain the human health benefits of 

10 cultured seafood; 

11 (6) to improve techniques for monitoring, as12 sessing, and addressing environmental impacts of 

13 offshore aquaculture and develop and evaluate meth14 odologies to prevent, minimize, and mitigate poten15 tial adverse environmental impacts; 

16 (7) to evaluate the potential for offshore aqua17 culture to serve as a tool for environmental manage18 ment, including connections to water quality, water19 shed management, and fishery conservation and 

20 management; 

21 (8) to evaluate the potential impact of offshore 

22 aquaculture on the economies of coastal commu23 nities, particularly those dependent on traditional 

24 fishery resources; 


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1 (9) to identify barriers to entry in the offshore 

2 aquaculture industry and propose solutions to over3 come them; 

4 (10) to study the traditional aquaculture meth5 ods and practices of Native Americans, Alaska Na6 tives, and Native Hawaiians to evaluate economic, 

7 environmental, and sociological impacts; 

8 (11) to investigate other priority issues identi9 fied by the Secretary; and 

10 (12) to evaluate economic aspects of offshore 

11 aquaculture, including production costs and market 

12 development. 

13 (c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL PRO14 GRAMS.—The Secretary shall— 

15 (1) coordinate aquaculture research and devel16 opment intramural programs and grants within the 

17 Department of Commerce and with other Federal in18 tramural and extramural programs that provide 

19 grant funding for purposes similar to those under 

20 subsection (b), such as grants administered by the 

21 National Sea Grant College Program and the Na22 tional Institute of Standards and Technology; and 

23 (2) coordinate the research and development 

24 grant program established in this section with the 

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1 lished under section 6 of the National Aquaculture 

2 Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2805) and with the research 

3 and development conducted through the Cooperative 

4 Extension System of the Department of Agriculture. 

5 (d) COOPERATIVE RESEARCH AGREEMENT.—To 

6 carry out this section, the Secretary may enter into a coop7 erative agreement with a State, institution of higher edu8 cation, or other private institution or research center. 

9 SEC. 204. ECONOMIC SOUNDNESS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 53708 of title 46, United 

11 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘(f) AQUACULTURE.—In making the findings under 

14 subsections (a) and (b), the Administrator and the Sec15 retary may take into account factors such as— 

16 ‘‘(1) the transferability of an aquaculture per17 mit; 

18 ‘‘(2) an assessment of the shore-side seafood 

19 economy where the borrower will be operating; and 

20 ‘‘(3) the existence of a formal technical assist21 ance program administered by a governmental agen22 cy.’’. 


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1 TITLE III—REFINEMENTS 

2 SEC. 301. RECORDKEEPING, INSPECTIONS, AND ACCESS TO 

3 INFORMATION. 

4 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary, after consulta5 tion with other interested Federal departments and agen6 cies, shall prescribe by regulation— 

7 (1) the records that an offshore aquaculture 

8 permit holder is required to establish and maintain; 

9 (2) the reports that an offshore aquaculture 

10 permit holder is required to make; 

11 (3) the information that an offshore aqua12 culture permit holder is required to provide, which 

13 shall at a minimum include— 

14 (A) data regarding escape events; 

15 (B) the prevalence of disease in the off16 shore aquaculture facility, including a descrip17 tion of veterinary services provided for treat18 ment; 

19 (C) a copy of any required incident or an20 nual report required under a permit necessary 

21 for aquaculture operations under other Federal 

22 law; and 

23 (D) other information, as the Secretary 

24 may require; and 


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1 (4) any other recordkeeping that an offshore 

2 aquaculture permit holder is required to satisfy, as 

3 necessary to carry out this Act. 

4 (b) REGULATORY CONSISTENCY.—The regulations 

5 under subsection (a) may not amend, contradict, or dupli6 cate regulations under any other Federal law. 

7 (c) RECORDKEEPING.—An offshore aquaculture per8 mit holder shall— 

9 (1) comply with the recordkeeping regulations 

10 under subsection (a); and 

11 (2) submit such reports, and make such records 

12 and information available as the Secretary may re13 quest. 

14 (d) INSPECTIONS.— 

15 (1) FREQUENCY.—The Secretary shall conduct 

16 an annual inspection of offshore aquaculture facili17 ties. 

18 (2) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide rea19 sonable notice prior to site inspections at offshore 

20 aquaculture facilities pursuant to paragraph (1). 

21 The Secretary shall take into consideration biosecu22 rity concerns and work with the permit holder to en23 sure best inspection practices to ensure safety and 

24 protect cultured species. 


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1 (3) FACILITIES LOCATED ON THE OUTER CON2 TINENTAL SHELF.—The Secretary of the Interior, or 

3 a designee of such Secretary, is authorized with in4 spection authority under this section for offshore 

5 aquaculture facilities located on the outer conti6 nental shelf. 

7 (e) GOVERNMENT ACCESS.—Any Federal Govern8 ment official representing an agency with authority for im9 plementing and enforcing Federal law applicable to off10 shore aquaculture shall have reasonable access to an off11 shore aquaculture facility for which a permit is issued 

12 under this Act for the purpose of enforcing the Federal 

13 law under the official’s jurisdiction or otherwise carrying 

14 out the official’s responsibilities. Such an official, relative 

15 to their jurisdictional authority, may inspect, at reason16 able times, appropriate records, files, papers, permits, 

17 processes, controls, and the offshore aquaculture facility 

18 and may test any feature of the offshore aquaculture facil19 ity, provided testing does not risk incurring damage or po20 tentially compromise the structural integrity of the facility 

21 or the health of cultured species. Each inspection shall be 

22 conducted with reasonable promptness. The permit holder 

23 shall receive timely notification, in writing, of the results 

24 of the inspection. 


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1 (f) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary shall make re2 ports and other information received under this Act avail3 able to the public unless the Secretary determines it is 

4 necessary to withhold disclosure to protect confidential 

5 business information or sensitive personal information. 

6 The Secretary shall establish procedures to protect con7 fidential business information and sensitive personal infor8 mation from being disclosed. 

9 SEC. 302. MARINE FEED STANDARDS. 

10 (a) RELATION TO CURRENT LAW.—Nothing in this 

11 Act shall be construed in derogation of applicable law re12 garding the production of animal feed, and offshore aqua13 culture operations shall comply with all applicable law (in14 cluding regulations). 

15 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR FISHERIES-DERIVED MA16 RINE FEED INGREDIENTS.—The Secretary shall require 

17 that fish meal, or any fisheries-derived marine feed ingre18 dients (both first-use and trimmings), used at offshore 

19 aquaculture facilities in the exclusive economic zone— 

20 (1) are sourced from a sustainably managed 

21 fishery for aquaculture feed; 

22 (2) employ traceability sufficient to credibly 

23 demonstrate the ingredients were sourced from a 

24 sustainably managed fishery for aquaculture feed; 


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1 (3) are harvested and produced without convict, 

2 forced, or indentured labor; and 

3 (4) are delivered to the cultured species as part 

4 of a formulated feed. 

5 (c) STUDY ON BEST PRACTICES FOR MARINE

6 FEED.—Not later than 2 years after the date of enact7 ment of the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of 

8 American Aquaculture Act, the Secretaries of Commerce 

9 and Agriculture, through the coordinating group, shall 

10 conduct a study of the best management practices related 

11 to sustainable, economic feed for the United States marine 

12 aquaculture industry. The study shall— 

13 (1) recommend best practices for sourcing fish 

14 meal from sustainably managed fisheries for aqua15 culture feed; 

16 (2) recommend best practices to provide 

17 traceability on the source of fish meal ingredients; 

18 (3) recommend best practices for sourcing for19 mulated feed ingredients from domestic sources; and 

20 (4) recommend best practices for harvesting 

21 and producing fish meal so that it can be known 

22 that it is harvested and produced without convict, 

23 forced, or indentured labor. 

24 (d) REPORT.—Upon completion of the study under 

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1 culture shall prepare and submit a report containing the 

2 recommendations described in subsection (c) to the Com3 mittee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the 

4 Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

5 House of Representatives. 

6 SEC. 303. MARINE USE RIGHTS. 

7 The permit established under section 202 shall be 

8 considered a marine use right, offering security of tenure 

9 for purpose of obtaining investment, transferring permit 

10 to other authorized users, and allowing for operations. 

11 TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE 

12 PROVISIONS 

13 SEC. 401. OFFICE OF AQUACULTURE. 

14 (a) OFFICE OF AQUACULTURE.—The Secretary shall 

15 establish and provide resources for— 

16 (1) an Office of Aquaculture within the Na17 tional Marine Fisheries Service at the National Oce18 anic and Atmospheric Administration headquarters 

19 to implement this title; and 

20 (2) an Office of Aquaculture presence in each 

21 of the regional fisheries offices of the National Oce22 anic and Atmospheric Administration, which pres23 ence shall, at a minimum, be sufficient to fulfill the 

24 duties under subsection (b), but may be increased to 


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1 the extent warranted by the activity and interest of 

2 aquaculture stakeholders in the region. 

3 (b) OFFICE OF AQUACULTURE DUTIES.—The Office 

4 of Aquaculture shall— 

5 (1) ensure the implementation of this Act; 

6 (2) coordinate regulatory, scientific, outreach, 

7 and international issues related to aquaculture with8 in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis9 tration; 

10 (3) collaborate with and leverage existing ef11 forts by the National Sea Grant College program 

12 to— 

13 (A) conduct aquaculture outreach, edu14 cation, extension services, and training efforts; 

15 and 

16 (B) engage with aquaculture stakeholders 

17 and, from time to time, convene conferences for 

18 aquaculture stakeholders to exchange informa19 tion and ideas; and 

20 (4) maintain aquaculture capacity in each of 

21 the regional fisheries offices of the National Oceanic 

22 and Atmospheric Administration, including at least 

23 one Regional Aquaculture Coordinator in each such 

24 office. 


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1 (c) AQUACULTURE RESEARCH PROGRAM AND DU2 TIES.—In addition to the resources required under sub3 section (a), the Secretary shall establish and provide addi4 tional resources for an aquaculture research program that 

5 draws upon the scientific capacity of National Oceanic and 

6 Atmospheric Administration programs such as the Fish7 eries Science Centers, Sea Grant, and the National Cen8 ters for Coastal and Ocean Science to support the Office 

9 of Aquaculture’s efforts to implement this title. Specifi10 cally, the program shall— 

11 (1) ensure that offshore aquaculture operations 

12 permitted under this title are scientifically monitored 

13 to support the implementation of this Act, evaluate 

14 data, and conduct additional research to support the 

15 development of sustainable offshore aquaculture in 

16 accordance with this title; and 

17 (2) administer the research and development 

18 grant program under section 203. 

19 (d) AQUACULTURE SUBCOMMITTEE.—The Marine 

20 Fisheries Advisory Committee shall designate the Aqua21 culture Subcommittee as a permanent, standing sub22 committee to serve as an external board to advise the Sec23 retary on offshore aquaculture. The Aquaculture Sub24 committee shall coordinate with the National Sea Grant 

25 Advisory Board, as appropriate. 


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1 (e) BUDGET PRESENTATION.—The National Oceanic 

2 and Atmospheric Administration shall transmit its budget 

3 request for the Office of Aquaculture as a separate line 

4 with the National Marine Fisheries Service. 

5 SEC. 402. SUPPORT FOR INDUSTRY. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall support the 

7 development of sustainable marine aquaculture, consistent 

8 with this Act and other applicable Federal law. 

9 (b) MARKETING AND PROMOTION GRANTS.—The 

10 Secretary shall, in consultation with industry, establish 

11 and administer a grant program to support the sale and 

12 public perception of cultured species domestically and 

13 internationally. 

14 (c) WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT.—The Secretary 

15 shall, in consultation with industry, academic institutions, 

16 and the National Sea Grant College Program, develop and 

17 manage a grant program to support the education and 

18 training of individuals with the skills needed to manage 

19 and operate aquaculture facilities. 

20 (d) REGIONAL NETWORKS.—The Secretary shall or21 ganize through each regional fisheries office of the Na22 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a network 

23 of— 

24 (1) regional experts and Federal agency con25 tacts, in coordination with relevant organizations 


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1 (including the National Sea Grant College Program 

2 under the National Sea Grant College Program Act 

3 (33 U.S.C. 1121 et seq.), the Department of Agri4 culture Regional Aquaculture Centers, institutions of 

5 higher education, and the Cooperative Extension 

6 System of the Department of Agriculture) to provide 

7 technical expertise and extension services on offshore 

8 aquaculture and information on Federal permit re9 quirements; and 

10 (2) individuals and businesses interested in 

11 aquaculture operations and products to facilitate 

12 professional development, marketing, mentoring op13 portunities, and agency outreach and education on 

14 aquaculture. 

15 (e) AQUACULTURE DATABASE.—The Secretary shall 

16 establish and maintain within the Office of Aquaculture 

17 an aquaculture database. The aquaculture database shall 

18 include information on research, technologies, monitoring 

19 techniques, best practices, and advisory board rec20 ommendations. The Secretary shall make the aquaculture 

21 database available in a manner that safeguards confiden22 tial business information. The inclusion of information in 

23 the database under this subsection shall not be considered 

24 to be publication for purposes of subsection (a) or (b) of 

25 section 102 of title 35, United States Code. 


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1 (f) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FOR OPERATORS.—The 

2 Secretary shall organize through the Office of Aquaculture 

3 and the Regional Aquaculture Coordinators, a program to 

4 provide technical assistance to operators in each regional 

5 fisheries office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

6 Administration. The programs shall be tailored to meet 

7 the unique needs of each region, but shall conduct indi8 vidual consultations with each operator in the region on 

9 a regular basis to assess the status of the operator’s busi10 ness, and if appropriate, identify available resources to 

11 support the operator, such as regional experts, university 

12 extension agents, and grant opportunities. 

13 (g) CAPITAL MARKETS.— 

14 (1) OUTREACH TO FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS.— 

15 In order to enhance access to capital markets, the 

16 Secretary shall provide financial institutions and in17 vestment firms with objective, science-based informa18 tion on offshore aquaculture and the Federal regu19 latory regime that governs it. 

20 (2) ECONOMIC ANALYSIS.—In addition, the Sec21 retary shall provide economic analysis to answer 

22 queries regarding the value of offshore aquaculture 

23 assets to secure financing, such as equipment, gov24 ernmental permits, inventory, and intellectual prop25 erty. 


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1 (3) COLLABORATION.—In order to achieve the 

2 goals of this subsection, the Secretary is encouraged 

3 to collaborate with the Secretary of Agriculture, the 

4 Secretary of the Treasury, and the regional networks 

5 established under subsection (d). 

6 SEC. 403. OUTREACH AND EDUCATION. 

7 The Secretary shall conduct outreach on sustainable 

8 offshore aquaculture to promote understanding, science9 based decision making, and commercial adoption. The Sec10 retary shall use appropriate means to engage— 

11 (1) the general public; 

12 (2) community leaders; 

13 (3) governmental officials; 

14 (4) the business community; 

15 (5) the academic community; and 

16 (6) the nonprofit sector. 

17 SEC. 404. ADMINISTRATION. 

18 (a) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary— 

19 (1) shall initiate a rulemaking process, not later 

20 than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, 

21 after consulting with relevant Federal agencies, 

22 coastal States, federally recognized Indian Tribes 

23 within the meaning of such term in Executive Order 

24 13175 (65 Fed. Reg. 67249), the Commonwealth of 

25 Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the United States 


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1 Virgin Islands, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 

2 Northern Mariana Islands, Regional Fishery Man3 agement Councils as established under section 302 

4 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and 

5 Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1852), and interstate 

6 fisheries commissions to implement this Act, includ7 ing— 

8 (A) procedures to issue, modify, deny, re9 voke, or suspend an offshore aquaculture per10 mit in accordance with this Act; 

11 (B) procedures to coordinate the offshore 

12 aquaculture permitting process, with similar or 

13 complementary activities administered by other 

14 Federal agencies, federally recognized Indian 

15 Tribes, and coastal States; 

16 (C) procedures to monitor and evaluate 

17 permit compliance to verify and confirm compli18 ance with the requirements of this Act; 

19 (D) procedures to transfer an offshore 

20 aquaculture permit from an original permit 

21 holder to a person that meets the requirements 

22 under section 202; 

23 (E) procedures to minimize conflicts with 

24 existing uses in the exclusive economic zone; 


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1 (F) procedures to consider public-private 

2 partnerships; and 

3 (G) standards for determining what types 

4 of feed may be employed in an offshore aqua5 culture facility in accordance with the require6 ments of section 302; 

7 (2) shall promulgate such additional regulations 

8 as are necessary and appropriate to carry out this 

9 Act; and 

10 (3) may amend a regulation at any time. 

11 (b) AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary may enter into 

12 and perform such contracts, leases, or cooperative agree13 ments, and make and receive such grants or funds, as may 

14 be necessary to carry out this Act. 

15 (c) USE OF CONTRIBUTED GOVERNMENTAL RE16 SOURCES.—For enforcement under this Act, the Secretary 

17 may use, with consent and with or without reimbursement, 

18 and consistent with applicable law, the land, services, 

19 equipment, personnel, and facilities of— 

20 (1) any department, agency, or instrumentality 

21 of the United States; 

22 (2) any State, local government, Tribal govern23 ment, territory, or possession (or any political sub24 division thereof); 

25 (3) any foreign government; or 


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1 (4) an international organization. 

2 (d) AUTHORITY TO USE GRANT FUNDS.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided under 

4 paragraph (2), the Secretary may apply for, accept, 

5 and obligate research grant funding from any Fed6 eral source operating a competitive grant program if 

7 the funding furthers the purposes of this Act. 

8 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may not apply 

9 for, accept, or obligate any research grant funding 

10 under paragraph (1) if the granting agency lacks au11 thority to grant funds to Federal agencies or for any 

12 purpose, or subject to any condition, that is prohib13 ited by law or regulation. 

14 (3) MATCHING GRANT FUNDS.—Appropriated 

15 funds may be used to satisfy a requirement to match 

16 grant funds with recipient agency funds, except that 

17 no grant may be accepted that requires a commit18 ment in advance of appropriations. 

19 (4) ACCOUNTS.—Funds received from a grant 

20 shall be deposited in the National Oceanic and At21 mospheric Administration account that serves to ac22 complish the purpose for which the grant was 

23 awarded. 

24 (e) RESERVATION OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this 

25 Act shall be construed to displace, supersede, or limit the 


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1 jurisdiction, responsibilities, or rights of any Federal or 

2 State agency, or Indian Tribe or Alaska Native organiza3 tion, under any Federal law or treaty. 

4 SEC. 405. REPORT AND PERMIT TERMS. 

5 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 

6 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue a report 

7 to the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Committee 

8 on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate 

9 and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

10 of Representatives regarding implementation of this Act. 

11 The report shall include— 

12 (1) the number of offshore aquaculture permits 

13 applied for, granted, denied, and retired, together 

14 with a brief description of the circumstances of each; 

15 (2) any and all enforcement actions undertaken, 

16 and the disposition of each; 

17 (3) the number of aquaculture opportunity 

18 areas established under section 102, together with a 

19 brief description of the circumstances of each; 

20 (4) results from any grants awarded under this 

21 Act; 

22 (5) the Secretary’s assessment of the state of 

23 offshore aquaculture in the United States; 


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1 (6) the Secretary’s assessment of United States 

2 offshore aquaculture in comparison to offshore aqua3 culture in other nations; and 

4 (7) the Secretary’s recommendations to improve 

5 United States offshore aquaculture. 

6 (b) DETERMINATION REGARDING PERMITS.—In ad7 dition to the requirements of subsection (a), the Secretary 

8 may make the following determinations regarding permit 

9 terms for offshore aquaculture: 

10 (1) The effect of shortening or lengthening per11 mit terms on the risk of harm to the environment. 

12 (2) The effect of shortening or lengthening per13 mit terms on industry’s access to capital markets. 

14 (3) Whether a change to the permit terms es15 tablished in this Act is warranted. 

16 SEC. 406. FEDERAL COORDINATION. 

17 (a) RELATION TO CURRENT LAW.—Nothing in this 

18 section shall be construed in derogation of law in effect 

19 on the date of enactment of this Act that is applicable 

20 to offshore aquaculture operations, and the unified permit21 ting and review process established under this section shall 

22 not affect the timelines or standards established under 

23 other laws. 

24 (b) COORDINATION.—Subject to subsection (a), the 

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1 ment of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, the 

2 Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of En3 gineers, the Food and Drug Administration, and the de4 partment in which the U.S. Coast Guard is operating to 

5 simplify the Federal permitting process for offshore aqua6 culture. The Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, 

7 Health and Human Services, and the department in which 

8 the U.S. Coast Guard is operating, the Administrator of 

9 the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chief of 

10 Engineers shall cooperate with the Secretary of Commerce 

11 to implement this section. 

12 (c) UNIFIED PERMITTING AND REVIEW PROCESS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries of 

15 Commerce, Interior, Agriculture, Health and Human 

16 Services, and the department in which the U.S. 

17 Coast Guard is operating, the Administrator of the 

18 Environmental Protection Agency, and the Chief of 

19 Engineers shall, through the Secretary of Commerce, 

20 initiate, subject to the requirements of subsection 

21 (a), a rulemaking for all permits administered by 

22 such agency heads relating to offshore aquaculture 

23 for a unified process, public notice, and public com24 ment for— 

25 (A) initial issuance of permits; 


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1 (B) renewal of permits; and 

2 (C) transfer of permits. 

3 (2) OUTREACH.—The Secretary of Commerce, 

4 through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad5 ministration, shall serve as the lead Federal agency 

6 for purposes of providing information on Federal 

7 permitting requirements for aquaculture in Federal 

8 waters. 

9 (3) INFORMAL REVIEW AND COMPATIBILITY

10 ANALYSIS.—The Secretary of Commerce, acting 

11 through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad12 ministration, shall convene representatives of the 

13 Department of the Interior, the Department of Agri14 culture, the Environmental Protection Agency, the 

15 Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department in 

16 which the U.S. Coast Guard is operating to provide 

17 prospective permit applicants an opportunity for in18 formal consultation with Federal agencies. The Sec19 retary of Commerce may invite representatives from 

20 other Federal agencies as necessary or advisable. 

21 Nothing in this subsection shall preclude an appli22 cant or a prospective applicant from contacting Fed23 eral agencies directly. 

24 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.—To the extent 

25 allowable under the National Environmental Policy 


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1 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), any environ2 mental analysis or environmental impact statement 

3 required under such Act for offshore aquaculture ac4 tivities shall be conducted through a single, consoli5 dated environmental review and the National Oce6 anic and Atmospheric Administration, through the 

7 Office of Aquaculture and associated divisions, shall 

8 serve as the lead Federal agency. 

9 (5) COORDINATION OF PERMIT REVIEWS.—To 

10 the extent practicable under this Act and all other 

11 applicable laws and regulations, Federal agencies 

12 with permitting requirements applicable to offshore 

13 aquaculture facilities shall coordinate their review 

14 processes in order to provide a timely response to 

15 applicants. 

16 SEC. 407. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

17 It is unlawful for any person— 

18 (1) to violate any provision of this Act or any 

19 regulation or permit issued pursuant to this Act; 

20 (2) to refuse to permit any officer authorized to 

21 enforce the provisions of this Act (in accordance 

22 with section 408) to access an offshore aquaculture 

23 facility, associated onshore facility, vessel, or other 

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1 poses of conducting any search or inspection in con2 nection with the enforcement of this Act; 

3 (3) to assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimi4 date, or interfere with any such authorized officer in 

5 the conduct of any search or inspection described in 

6 paragraph (2); 

7 (4) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohib8 ited by this section; 

9 (5) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, pur10 chase, import, export, or have custody, control, or 

11 possession of, any cultured species produced, taken, 

12 retained, or possessed in violation of this Act; 

13 (6) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any 

14 means, the apprehension or arrest of another person, 

15 knowing that such other person has committed any 

16 act prohibited by this section; 

17 (7) to make or submit to the Secretary or the 

18 Governor of a State false information regarding any 

19 matter that the Secretary or Governor is considering 

20 in the course of carrying out this Act; 

21 (8) to make any false statement or provide any 

22 false information on, or in connection with, an appli23 cation, declaration, record, or report; or 


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1 (9) without authorization, to remove, damage, 

2 or tamper with or attempt to remove, damage, or 

3 tamper with— 

4 (A) an offshore aquaculture facility owned 

5 by another person, which is located in the exclu6 sive economic zone, including any component 

7 thereof; or 

8 (B) cultured species contained in such fa9 cility or component thereof. 

10 SEC. 408. ENFORCEMENT. 

11 (a) RESPONSIBILITY.—The provisions of this Act 

12 shall be enforced by the Secretary and the Secretary of 

13 the department in which the Coast Guard is operating. 

14 In enforcing this Act, such Secretaries may by agreement 

15 utilize, on a reimbursable or non-reimbursable basis, the 

16 personnel, services, equipment (including aircraft and ves17 sels), and facilities of any other Federal agency, including 

18 all elements of the Department of Defense, or of any State 

19 agency. Such Secretaries shall, and the head of any Fed20 eral or State agency that has entered into an agreement 

21 with either such Secretary under this section may (if the 

22 agreement so provides), authorize officers to enforce the 

23 provisions of this Act or any regulation promulgated under 

24 this Act. 


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1 (b) POWERS OF AUTHORIZED OFFICERS.—Any offi2 cer who is authorized under subsection (a) to enforce the 

3 provisions of this Act may, with or without a warrant or 

4 other process, as authorized by law— 

5 (1) arrest any person, if the officer has reason6 able cause to believe that such person has committed 

7 an act prohibited by section 407; 

8 (2) board, search or inspect, any offshore aqua9 culture facility, associated onshore facility, vessel, or 

10 other conveyance (including its gear, furniture, ap11 purtenances, stores, records, and cargo) which is 

12 subject to the provisions of this Act; 

13 (3) seize any vessel, or other conveyance (to14 gether with its gear, furniture, appurtenances, 

15 stores, records, and cargo) used or employed in, or 

16 with respect to which it reasonably appears that 

17 such vessel was used or employed in, the violation of 

18 any provision of this Act; 

19 (4) seize any cultured species or seafood prod20 uct (wherever found) taken, produced, imported, ex21 ported, transported, sold, received, acquired, or pur22 chased in any manner, in connection with or as a re23 sult of the violation of any provision of this Act; 

24 (5) seize any evidence related to any violation 

25 of any provision of this Act; 


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1 (6) detain any cultured species or seafood prod2 uct to determine compliance with this Act; 

3 (7) search and seize, in accordance with any 

4 guidelines which may be issued by the Attorney Gen5 eral; 

6 (8) access, directly or indirectly, for enforce7 ment purposes any data or information required to 

8 be provided or reported under this Act or regulations 

9 promulgated under this Act, including data from 

10 vessel or facility monitoring systems, automatic iden11 tification systems, long-range identification and 

12 tracking systems, or any similar system; 

13 (9) execute and serve any subpoena, arrest war14 rant, search warrant issued in accordance with Rule 

15 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, or 

16 other warrant or civil or criminal process issued by 

17 any officer or court of competent jurisdiction; and 

18 (10) exercise any other lawful authority. 

19 (c) ISSUANCE OF CITATIONS.—If any authorized offi20 cer finds that a person, offshore aquaculture facility, asso21 ciated onshore facility, vessel, or other conveyance is en22 gaging or has been engaged in the violation of any provi23 sion of this Act, such officer may issue a citation to the 

24 owner or operator of such vessel in lieu of proceeding 

25 under subsection (f), (g), or (h). If a permit has been 


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1 issued pursuant to this Act for such facility or conveyance, 

2 such officer shall note the issuance of any citation under 

3 this subsection, including the date thereof and the reason 

4 therefor, on the permit. The Secretary shall maintain a 

5 record of all citations issued pursuant to this subsection. 

6 (d) SUBPOENAS.—For the purposes of conducting 

7 any investigation or hearing under this Act, or any other 

8 marine resource law enforced by the Secretary, the Sec9 retary may issue subpoenas for the attendance and testi10 mony of witnesses and the production of relevant papers, 

11 photographs, records, books, and documents in any form, 

12 including those in electronic, optical or magnetic form, and 

13 may administer oaths. Witnesses summoned shall be paid 

14 the same fees and mileage that are paid to witnesses in 

15 the courts of the United States. In case of contempt or 

16 refusal to obey a subpoena served upon any person pursu17 ant to this subsection, the district court of the United 

18 States for any district in which such person is found, re19 sides, or transacts business, upon application by the 

20 United States and after notice to such person, shall have 

21 jurisdiction to issue an order requiring such person to ap22 pear and give testimony before the Secretary or to appear 

23 and produce documents before the Secretary, or both, and 

24 any failure to obey such order of the court may be pun25 ished by such court as a contempt thereof. 


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1 (e) DISTRICT COURT JURISDICTION.—The several 

2 district courts of the United States shall have jurisdiction 

3 over any actions arising under this Act. For purposes of 

4 this section, for Hawaii or any possession of the United 

5 States in the Pacific Ocean, the appropriate court is the 

6 United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, 

7 except that in the case of Guam and Wake Island, the 

8 appropriate court is the United States District Court for 

9 the District of Guam, and in the case of the Northern 

10 Mariana Islands, the appropriate court is the United 

11 States District Court for the District of the Northern 

12 Mariana Islands. Each violation shall be a separate of13 fense and the offense shall be deemed to have been com14 mitted not only in the district where the violation first oc15 curred, but also in any other district as authorized by law. 

16 Any offenses not committed in any district are subject to 

17 the venue provisions of section 3238 of title 18, United 

18 States Code. 

19 (f) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 

20 (1) CIVIL ADMINISTRATIVE PENALTIES.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person who is 

22 found by the Secretary, after notice and oppor23 tunity for a hearing in accordance with section 

24 554 of title 5, United States Code, to have com25 mitted an act prohibited by section 407 shall be 


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1 liable to the United States for a civil penalty. 

2 The amount of the civil penalty shall not exceed 

3 $37,500 for each violation. Each day of a con4 tinuing violation shall constitute a separate of5 fense. The amount of such civil penalty shall be 

6 assessed by the Secretary, by written notice. In 

7 determining the amount of such penalty, the 

8 Secretary shall take into account the nature, 

9 circumstances, extent, and gravity of the pro10 hibited acts committed and, with respect to the 

11 violator, the degree of culpability, any history of 

12 prior offenses, and such other matters as jus13 tice may require. In assessing such penalty the 

14 Secretary may also consider any information 

15 provided by the violator relating to the ability 

16 of the violator to pay, provided that the infor17 mation is served on the Secretary at least 30 

18 days prior to an administrative hearing. 

19 (B) COMPROMISE OR OTHER ACTION BY

20 SECRETARY.—The Secretary may compromise, 

21 modify, or remit, with or without conditions, 

22 any civil administrative penalty which is or may 

23 be imposed under this subsection and that has 

24 not been referred to the Attorney General for 

25 further enforcement action. 


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1 (2) IN REM JURISDICTION.—An offshore aqua2 culture facility, associated onshore facility, vessel, or 

3 other conveyance (including its gear, furniture, ap4 purtenances, stores, records, and cargo) used in the 

5 commission of an act prohibited by section 407 shall 

6 be liable in rem for any civil penalty assessed for 

7 such violation under this section and may be pro8 ceeded against in any district court of the United 

9 States having jurisdiction thereof. 

10 (3) COLLECTION OF ADMINISTRATIVE PEN11 ALTIES.—If any person fails to pay an assessment 

12 of a civil penalty under paragraph (1) after it has 

13 become a final and unappealable order, the Sec14 retary shall refer the matter to the Attorney Gen15 eral, who shall recover the amount assessed (plus in16 terest at current prevailing rates from the date of 

17 the final order) in any appropriate district court of 

18 the United States. In such action, the validity and 

19 appropriateness of the final order imposing the civil 

20 penalty shall not be subject to review. Any person 

21 who fails to pay, on a timely basis, the amount of 

22 an assessment of a civil penalty shall be required to 

23 pay, in addition to such amount and interest, attor24 ney’s fees and costs for collection proceedings and a 

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1 ing which such failure to pay persists. Such non2 payment penalty shall be in an amount equal to 20 

3 percent of the aggregate amount of such person’s 

4 penalties and nonpayment penalties that are unpaid 

5 as of the beginning of such quarter. 

6 (4) PERMIT SANCTIONS.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to any 

8 case in which an offshore aquaculture facility, 

9 associated onshore facility, vessel, or other con10 veyance was used in the commission of an act 

11 prohibited under section 407, the owner or op12 erator of an offshore aquaculture facility, asso13 ciated onshore facility, vessel, or other convey14 ance (or any other person who has been issued 

15 or has applied for a permit under this Act) has 

16 acted in violation of section 407, or any civil 

17 penalty, criminal fine, or amount in settlement 

18 of a civil forfeiture imposed under this Act on 

19 a person, offshore aquaculture facility, associ20 ated onshore facility, vessel, or other convey21 ance that has been issued or has applied for a 

22 permit under this Act has not been paid and is 

23 overdue, the Secretary may— 

24 (i) revoke any permit issued with re25 spect to such person, offshore aquaculture 


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1 facility, associated onshore facility, vessel, 

2 other conveyance, with or without preju3 dice to the issuance of subsequent permits; 

4 (ii) suspend such permit for a period 

5 of time considered by the Secretary to be 

6 appropriate; 

7 (iii) deny such permit; or 

8 (iv) impose additional conditions and 

9 restrictions on such permit. 

10 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—In imposing a 

11 sanction under this paragraph, the Secretary 

12 shall take into account the nature, cir13 cumstances, extent, and gravity of the prohib14 ited acts for which the sanction is imposed and, 

15 with respect to the violator, the degree of culpa16 bility, any history of prior offenses, and such 

17 other matters as justice may require. 

18 (C) EFFECT OF TRANSFER OF OWNER19 SHIP.—Transfer of ownership of an offshore 

20 aquaculture facility, associated onshore facility, 

21 vessel, or other conveyance, by sale or other22 wise, shall not extinguish any permit sanction 

23 that is in effect or is pending at the time of 

24 transfer of ownership. Before executing the 

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1 ance, by sale or otherwise, the owner shall dis2 close in writing to the prospective transferee the 

3 existence of any permit sanction that will be in 

4 effect or pending with respect to the facility or 

5 conveyance at the time of the transfer. 

6 (D) PAYMENT OF PENALTY OR FINE.—In 

7 the case of any permit that is suspended under 

8 this paragraph for nonpayment of a civil pen9 alty or criminal fine, the Secretary shall rein10 state the permit upon payment of the penalty 

11 or fine and interest thereon at the prevailing 

12 rate. 

13 (E) HEARING.—No sanction shall be im14 posed under this paragraph unless there has 

15 been a prior opportunity for a hearing on the 

16 facts underlying the violation for which the 

17 sanction is imposed, either in conjunction with 

18 a civil penalty proceeding under this section or 

19 otherwise. 

20 (5) REVIEW OF CIVIL PENALTY.—Any person 

21 against whom a civil penalty is assessed under this 

22 subsection or against whom a permit sanction is im23 posed under this subsection (other than a permit 

24 suspension for nonpayment of penalty or fine) may 

25 obtain review thereof in the United States district 


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1 court for the appropriate district by filing a com2 plaint against the Secretary in such court within 30 

3 days from the date of such order that constitutes a 

4 final agency action. The Secretary shall promptly 

5 file in such court a certified copy of the record upon 

6 which such violation was found or such penalty im7 posed, as provided in section 2112 of title 28, 

8 United States Code. The findings and order of the 

9 Secretary shall be set aside by such court if they are 

10 not found to be supported by substantial evidence, 

11 as provided in section 706(2) of title 5, United 

12 States Code. 

13 (6) INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Upon the request of 

14 the Secretary, the Attorney General of the United 

15 States may commence a civil action for appropriate 

16 relief, including a permanent or temporary injunc17 tion, for any violation of this Act (including regula18 tions). 

19 (g) FORFEITURE.— 

20 (1) CRIMINAL FORFEITURE.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—A person who is con22 victed of an offense in violation of this Act shall 

23 forfeit to the United States— 

24 (i) any property, real or personal, con25 stituting or traceable to the gross proceeds 


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1 taken, obtained, or retained, in connection 

2 with or as a result of the offense, includ3 ing, without limitation, any cultured spe4 cies (or the fair market value thereof); and 

5 (ii) any property, real or personal, 

6 used or intended to be used, in any man7 ner, to commit or facilitate the commission 

8 of the offense, including, without limita9 tion, any vessel (including the vessel’s 

10 equipment, stores, catch and cargo), vehi11 cle, aircraft, or other means of transpor12 tation. 

13 (B) APPLICABILITY OF CONTROLLED SUB14 STANCES ACT.—Pursuant to section 2461(c) of 

15 title 28, United States Code, the provisions of 

16 section 413 of the Controlled Substances Act 

17 (21 U.S.C. 853) other than subsection (d) 

18 thereof shall apply to criminal forfeitures under 

19 this section. 

20 (2) CIVIL FORFEITURE.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The property set forth 

22 below shall be subject to administrative or judi23 cial forfeiture to the United States in accord24 ance with the provisions of chapter 46 of title 


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1 18, United States Code, and no property right 

2 shall exist in it: 

3 (i) Any property, real or personal, 

4 constituting or traceable to the gross pro5 ceeds taken, obtained, or retained, in con6 nection with or as a result of a violation of 

7 this Act, including, without limitation, any 

8 fish (or the fair market value thereof). 

9 (ii) Any property, real or personal, 

10 used or intended to be used, in any man11 ner, to commit or facilitate the commission 

12 of a violation of this Act, including, with13 out limitation, any vessel (including the 

14 vessel’s equipment, stores, catch and 

15 cargo), vehicle, aircraft, or other means of 

16 transportation. 

17 (B) APPLICATION OF THE CUSTOMS

18 LAWS.—All provisions of law relating to seizure, 

19 summary judgment, and forfeiture and con20 demnation for violation of the customs laws, the 

21 disposition of the property forfeited or con22 demned or the proceeds from the sale thereof, 

23 the remission or mitigation of such forfeitures, 

24 and the compromise of claims shall apply to sei25 zures and forfeitures incurred, or alleged to 


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1 have been incurred, under the provisions of this 

2 Act, insofar as applicable and not inconsistent 

3 with the provisions hereof. For seizures and for4 feitures of property under this section by the 

5 Secretary, such duties as are imposed upon the 

6 customs officer or any other person with respect 

7 to the seizure and forfeiture of property under 

8 the customs law may be performed by such offi9 cers as are designated by the Secretary or, 

10 upon request of the Secretary, by any other 

11 agency that has authority to manage and dis12 pose of seized property. 

13 (C) PRESUMPTION.—For the purposes of 

14 this section there is a rebuttable presumption 

15 that all cultured species, or components thereof, 

16 found in an offshore aquaculture facility or on 

17 board a vessel or other conveyance that is used 

18 or seized in connection with a violation of this 

19 Act were produced, taken, obtained, trans20 ported, or retained in violation of this Act. 

21 (h) CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT.— 

22 (1) IMPRISONMENT.—Any person (other than a 

23 foreign government agency, or entity wholly owned 

24 and controlled by a foreign government) who know25 ingly commits any act prohibited under section 407 


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1 shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years or 

2 fined not more than $500,000 for individuals or 

3 $1,000,000 for an organization, or both, except that, 

4 if in the commission of any such offense the indi5 vidual uses a dangerous weapon, engages in conduct 

6 that causes bodily injury to any officer authorized to 

7 enforce the provisions of this Act, or places any such 

8 officer in fear of imminent bodily injury, the max9 imum term of imprisonment is not more than 10 

10 years. 

11 (2) FINE AND IMPRISONMENT.—Any person 

12 (other than a foreign government agency, or entity 

13 wholly owned and controlled by a foreign govern14 ment) who violates a provision under section 407 

15 and who, in the exercise of due care should know 

16 that such person’s conduct violates such provision, 

17 shall be fined under title 18, United States Code, or 

18 imprisoned not more than one year, or both. 

19 (i) JOINT ENFORCEMENT AGREEMENTS.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Governor of an eligible 

21 State may apply to the Secretary for execution of a 

22 joint enforcement agreement with the Secretary that 

23 will authorize the deputization and funding of State 

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1 retary relating to law enforcement provisions under 

2 this title or any other marine resource law enforced 

3 by the Secretary. Upon receiving an application 

4 meeting the requirements of this subsection, the Sec5 retary may enter into a joint enforcement agreement 

6 with the requesting State. 

7 (2) ELIGIBLE STATE.—A State is eligible to 

8 participate in the cooperative enforcement agree9 ments under this section if it is in, or bordering on, 

10 the Atlantic Ocean (including the Caribbean Sea), 

11 the Pacific Ocean, the Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of 

12 Mexico, Long Island Sound, or one or more of the 

13 Great Lakes. 

14 (3) REQUIREMENTS.—Joint enforcement agree15 ments executed under paragraph (1)— 

16 (A) shall be consistent with the purposes 

17 and intent of this section to the extent applica18 ble to the regulated activities; 

19 (B) may include specifications for joint 

20 management responsibilities as provided by the 

21 first section of Public Law 91–412 (15 U.S.C. 

22 1525); and 

23 (C) shall provide for confidentiality of data 

24 and information submitted to the State under 

25 this Act. 


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1 (4) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—The Secretary 

2 shall include in each joint enforcement agreement an 

3 allocation of funds to assist in management of the 

4 agreement. The allocation shall be fairly distributed 

5 among all eligible States participating in cooperative 

6 enforcement agreements under this subsection, based 

7 upon consideration of Federal marine enforcement 

8 needs, the specific marine conservation enforcement 

9 needs of each participating eligible State, and the 

10 capacity of the State to undertake the marine en11 forcement mission and assist with enforcement 

12 needs. The agreement may provide for amounts to 

13 be withheld by the Secretary for the cost of any 

14 technical or other assistance provided to the State 

15 by the Secretary under the agreement. 

16 SEC. 409. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated to the Sec18 retary for the purpose of carrying out this Act— 

19 (1) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; 

20 (2) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; 

21 (3) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

22 (4) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; and 

23 (5) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2027. 

Æ 


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