Calendar No. 315

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1288

[Report No. 103–192]

A BILL

To provide for the coordination and implementation

N

program, and for other purposes.lish an aquaculture commercialization researchsector by the Secretary of Agriculture, to estabof a national aquaculture policy for the private

OVEMBER 19 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 2), 1993

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

title
II

Calendar No. 315

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1288

[Report No. 103–192]

To provide for the coordination and implementation of a national aquaculture

policy for the private sector by the Secretary of Agriculture, to establish

an aquaculture commercialization research program, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 27 (legislative day, JUNE 30), 1993

Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. CRAIG, Mr. GORTON, Mr. PELL, Mr.

HEFLIN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. WOFFORD, Mr. BOND, Mr. INOUYE, Mr.

JOHNSTON, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. DASCHLE, Mr. BREAUX, Mr. CAMPBELL,

Mr. PRYOR, and Mr. BUMPERS) introduced the following bill; which was

read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and

Forestry

NOVEMBER 19 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 2), 1993

Reported by Mr. LEAHY, with an amendment and an amendment to the title

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To provide for the coordination and implementation of a

national aquaculture policy for the private sector by the

Secretary of Agriculture, to establish an aquaculture

commercialization research program, and for other

purposes.
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•S 1288 RS

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

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

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

6 ‘‘National Aquaculture Development, Commercialization,

7 and Promotion Act of 1993’’.

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

9 this Act is as follows:

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

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

Sec. 4. National aquaculture development plan.

Sec. 5. National Aquaculture Information Center; assignment of new programs;

market development program.

Sec. 6. Coordination with the aquaculture industry.

Sec. 7. Aquaculture commercialization research.

Sec. 8. National policy for private aquaculture.

Sec. 9. Pollution assessment.

Sec. 10. Native American fishpond revitalization.

Sec. 11. Disaster assistance for aquaculture farms.

Sec. 12. Aquaculture education.

Sec. 13. International aquaculture scientific exchange.

Sec. 14. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 15. Eligibility of aquaculture farmers for farm credit assistance.

Sec. 16. International aquaculture information and data collection.

Sec. 17. Eligibility of aquaculture farms for emergency conservation program.

Sec. 18. Aquaculture information network report.

Sec. 19. Implementation report.

10 (c) REFERENCES TO NATIONAL AQUACULTURE ACT

11 OF 1980.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, when12 ever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in

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

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

15 a section or other provision of the National Aquaculture

16 Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.).
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Subsection (a) of section 2 (16

3 U.S.C. 2801(a)) is amended to read as follows:

4 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

5 ‘‘(1) The wild harvest or capture fisheries of

6 certain seafood species exceeds levels of optimum

7 sustainable yield, thereby making it more difficult to

8 meet the increasing demand for aquatic food.

9 ‘‘(2) To satisfy the domestic market for aquatic

10 food, the United States imports more than 59 per11 cent of its seafood. This dependence on imports ad12 versely affects the national balance of payments and

13 contributes to the uncertainty of supplies and prod14 uct quality.

15 ‘‘(3) Although aquaculture currently contributes

16 approximately 16 percent by weight of world seafood

17 production, less than 9 percent by weight of current

18 United States seafood production results from aqua19 culture. As a result, domestic aquaculture produc20 tion has the potential for significant growth.

21 ‘‘(4) Aquaculture production of aquatic animals

22 and plants can provide sources for food, industrial

23 materials, pharmaceuticals, energy, and aesthetic en24 joyment, and can assist in the control and abate25 ment of pollution.
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1 ‘‘(5) The rehabilitation and enhancement of fish

2 and shellfish resources are desirable applications of

3 aquaculture technology.

4 ‘‘(6) The principal responsibility for the devel5 opment of aquaculture in the United States must

6 rest with the private sector.

7 ‘‘(7) Despite its potential, the development of

8 aquaculture in the United States has been inhibited

9 by many scientific, economic, legal, and production

10 factors, such as—

11 ‘‘(A) inadequate credit;

12 ‘‘(B) limited research and development

13 programs;

14 ‘‘(C) diffused legal jurisdiction;

15 ‘‘(D) inconsistent interpretations between

16 Federal agencies;

17 ‘‘(E) the lack of management information;

18 ‘‘(F) the lack of supportive policies of the

19 Federal Government;

20 ‘‘(G) the lack of therapeutic compounds for

21 treatment of the diseases of aquatic animals

22 and plants; and

23 ‘‘(H) the lack of reliable supplies of seed

24 stock.
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1 ‘‘(8) Many areas of the United States are suit2 able for aquaculture, but are subject to land-use or

3 water-use management policies and regulations that

4 do not adequately consider the potential for aqua5 culture and may inhibit the development of aqua6 culture.

7 ‘‘(9) In 1990, the United States ranked only

8 tenth in the world in aquaculture production based

9 on total value of products.

10 ‘‘(10) Despite the current and increasing im11 portance of private aquaculture to the United States

12 economy and to rural areas in the United States,

13 Federal efforts to nurture aquaculture development

14 have failed to keep pace with the needs of fish and

15 aquatic plant farmers.

16 ‘‘(11) The United States has a premier oppor17 tunity to develop an important new agricultural in18 dustry to serve national needs and the global mar19 ketplace.

20 ‘‘(12) United States aquaculture provides

21 wholesome products for domestic consumers and

22 contributes significantly to the quality of life in rural

23 areas in the United States.

24 ‘‘(13) Since 1980, the United States trade defi25 cit in edible fishery products foods has increased by
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1 48 percent, from $1,777,921,000 to $2,634,738,000

2 in 1991.

3 ‘‘(14) Aquaculture is poised to become a major

4 growth industry of the 21st century. With global

5 seafood demand projected to increase 70 percent by

6 2025, and harvests from capture fisheries stable or

7 declining, aquaculture would have to increase pro8 duction by 700 percent, a total of 77 million metric

9 tons annually.

10 ‘‘(15) Private aquaculture production in the

11 United States has increased an average of 20 per12 cent by weight annually since 1980, and is one of

13 the fastest growing segments of United States and

14 world agriculture.

15 ‘‘(16) In 1990, private United States aqua16 culture production was 860,750,000 pounds, worth

17 $761,500,000 to United States fish farmers, up

18 from 203,178,000 pounds, worth $191,977,000, in

19 1980.

20 ‘‘(17) Since 1960, per capita consumption of

21 aquatic foods in the United States has increased by

22 49 percent to 14.9 pounds in 1991, and could reach

23 20 pounds by the year 2000. Total United States

24 demand is projected to double by 2020.’’.
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1 (b) PURPOSE.—Subsection (b) of section 2 (16

2 U.S.C. 2801(b)) is amended to read as follows:

3 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro4 mote aquaculture in the United States by—

5 ‘‘(1) declaring a national aquaculture policy;

6 ‘‘(2) establishing private aquaculture as a form

7 of agriculture;

8 ‘‘(3) establishing cultivated aquatic animals,

9 plants, microorganisms, and their products produced

10 by private persons and moving in standard commod11 ity channels as agricultural livestock, crops, and

12 commodities;

13 ‘‘(4) establishing the Department as the lead

14 Federal agency for the development, implementation,

15 promotion, and coordination of national policy and

16 programs for private aquaculture by—

17 ‘‘(A) designating the Secretary as the per18 manent chairperson of a Federal interagency

19 aquaculture coordinating group;

20 ‘‘(B) assigning overall responsibility to the

21 Secretary for coordinating, developing, and car22 rying out policies and programs for private

23 aquaculture; and

24 ‘‘(C) establishing a National Aquaculture

25 Information Center within the Department to
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1 support the United States aquaculture industry;

2 and

3 ‘‘(5) encouraging—

4 ‘‘(A) aquaculture activities and programs

5 in both the public and private sectors of the

6 economy of the United States;

7 ‘‘(B) the creation of new industries and job

8 opportunities related to aquaculture activities;

9 ‘‘(C) the reduction of the fisheries trade

10 deficit; and

11 ‘‘(D) other national policy benefits deriving

12 from aquaculture activities.’’.

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

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

15 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the

16 propogation’’ and all that follows through the period

17 at the end and inserting ‘‘the controlled cultivation

18 of aquatic plants and animals.’’;

19 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the pe20 riod at the end the following: ‘‘or microorganism’’;

21 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through

22 (9) as paragraphs (9) through (11), respectively;

23 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as

24 paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively;
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1 (5) by inserting after paragraph (4) the follow2 ing new paragraph:

3 ‘‘(5) The term ‘Department’ means the United

4 States Department of Agriculture.’’; and

5 (6) by inserting before paragraph (9) (as redes6 ignated by paragraph (3)) the following new para7 graph:

8 ‘‘(8) The term ‘private aquaculture’ means the

9 controlled cultivation of aquatic plants and animals

10 other than cultivation carried out by, or under con11 tract with, the Federal Government or any State or

12 local government.’’.

13 SEC. 4. NATIONAL AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

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

15 (1) in the second sentence of subsection (c)—

16 (A) in subparagraph (A), by adding ‘‘and’’

17 at the end;

18 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘;

19 and’’ and inserting a period; and

20 (C) by striking subparagraph (C);

21 (2) in the second sentence of subsection (d), by

22 striking ‘‘Secretaries determine’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec23 retary, in consultation with the other Secretaries,

24 determines’’;

25 (3) in subsection (e)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretaries’’ and inserting

2 ‘‘Secretary’’; and

3 (B) by inserting ‘‘and in consultation with

4 the other Secretaries and representatives of

5 other Federal agencies’’ after ‘‘coordinating

6 group’’; and

7 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub8 section:

9 ‘‘(f) ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN AQUACULTURE PRO10 GRAMS.—Not later than December 31, 1994, the Sec11 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce

12 and the Secretary of the Interior, shall submit to Congress

13 a report evaluating the actions taken in accordance with

14 subsection (d) with respect to the Plan, and making rec15 ommendations for updating and modifying the Plan. The

16 report shall also contain a compendium on Federal regula17 tions relating to aquaculture.’’.

18 SEC. 5. NATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION CENTER;

19 ASSIGNMENT OF NEW PROGRAMS; MARKET

20 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

21 Section 5 (16 U.S.C. 2804) is amended—

22 (1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘Secretar23 ies deem’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary, in consultation

24 with the other Secretaries, considers’’;

25 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(B)—
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1 (A) by striking clause (i) and inserting the

2 following new clause:

3 ‘‘(i) establish, within the Department,

4 within the National Agricultural Library, a Na5 tional Aquaculture Information Center that

6 shall—

7 ‘‘(I) serve as a repository and clear8 inghouse for the information collected

9 under subparagraph (A) and other provi10 sions of this Act;

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

12 organizations, institutions, and individuals

13 known to be involved in aquaculture of the

14 existence of the Center and the kinds of in15 formation that the Center can make avail16 able to the public; and

17 ‘‘(III) make available, on request, in18 formation described in subclause (I) (in19 cluding information collected under sub20 section (e));’’; and

21 (B) in clause (ii), by striking the comma

22 and inserting a semicolon;

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

24 striking ‘‘Interior,,’’ and inserting ‘‘Interior,’’; and
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1 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub2 sections:

3 ‘‘(e) ASSIGNMENT OF NEW PROGRAMS.—In consulta4 tion with representatives of the United States aquaculture

5 industry and in coordination with the Secretary of the In6 terior, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other

7 appropriate Federal agencies, the Secretary shall assess

8 Federal aquatic animal health programs and make rec9 ommendations as to the appropriate assignment to Fed10 eral agencies of new programs, initiatives, and activities

11 in support of aquaculture and resource stewardship and

12 management.

13 ‘‘(f) USE OF EXCESS SECTION 32 FUNDS.—(1)(A)(i)

14 Subject to subparagraphs (B) and (C), the Secretary shall

15 expend for aquaculture export promotion, research, devel16 opment, education, market development, and demonstra17 tion projects, for each fiscal year, an amount equal to the

18 aquaculture production percentage of the funds remaining

19 available to the Department for the fiscal year under sec20 tion 32 of the Act entitled ‘An Act to amend the Agricul21 tural Adjustment Act, and for other purposes’, approved

22 August 14, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), after the application

23 of the first 5 sentences of such section.

24 ‘‘(ii) As used in clause (i), the term ‘aquaculture pro25 duction percentage’ means the annual weight of aqua-
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1 culture products of the United States divided by the an2 nual weight of fisheries landings of the United States

3 (other than landings that are not used for human con4 sumption).

5 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may expend all or part of the

6 funds required to be expended pursuant to subparagraph

7 (A)(i) for the purpose of strengthening aquaculture mar8 kets, income, and supply.

9 ‘‘(C) In determining the purposes for which the funds

10 required to be expended pursuant to subparagraph (A)(i)

11 are to be expended, the Secretary shall give high priority

12 to carrying out subsection (e)(2).

13 ‘‘(2) For the purpose of carrying out this Act, for

14 each fiscal year, the Secretary may expend the funds re15 maining available to the Department for the fiscal year

16 under section 32 of the Act entitled ‘An Act to amend

17 the Agricultural Adjustment Act, and for other purposes’,

18 approved August 14, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), after the ap19 plication of paragraph (1).

20 ‘‘(3) For each fiscal year, if funds remain available

21 to the Department for the fiscal year under section 32

22 of such Act after the exercise (if any) of authority under

23 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall provide to the National

24 Aquaculture Information Center established under sub-
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1 section (c)(1)(B)(i) for activities of the Center during the

2 fiscal year the lesser of—

3 ‘‘(A) the amount of the remaining funds; or

4 ‘‘(B)(i) $1,000,000; minus

5 ‘‘(ii) the lesser of—

6 ‘‘(I) any funds provided to the Center

7 under paragraph (2); or

8 ‘‘(II) $1,000,000.’’.

9 SEC. 6. COORDINATION WITH THE AQUACULTURE INDUS10 TRY.

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

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

13 end;

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

15 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

16 (3) by adding at the end the following new

17 paragraph:

18 ‘‘(7) in order to facilitate improved communica19 tion and interaction among aquaculture producers,

20 the aquaculture community, the Federal Govern21 ment, and the coordinating group, establish a work22 ing relationship with—

23 ‘‘(A) the industry advisory councils of the

24 regional aquaculture centers established by the

25 Secretary under section 1475(d) of the National
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1 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching

2 Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3322(d)); and

3 ‘‘(B) national organizations, commodity as4 sociations, and professional societies represent5 ing aquaculture interests.’’.

6 SEC. 7. AQUACULTURE COMMERCIALIZATION RESEARCH.

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

8 (1) by redesignating sections 7 through 11 as

9 sections 14 through 18, respectively; and

10 (2) by inserting after section 6 the following

11 new section:

12 ‘‘SEC. 7. AQUACULTURE COMMERCIALIZATION RESEARCH.

13 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

14 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en15 tity’ means a public or private research or edu16 cational organization, private company, regional cen17 ter, Federal, State, or regional agency, or individual

18 that is eligible to receive a grant or enter into a con19 tract under this section.

20 ‘‘(2) REGIONAL AQUACULTURE CENTER.—The

21 term ‘regional aquaculture center’ means an

22 aquacultural research, development, and demonstra23 tion center established under section 1475(d) of the

24 National Agricultural Research, Extension, and

25 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3322(d)).
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1 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary—

3 ‘‘(A) may pay the Federal share of the cost

4 of making grants and awarding contracts to eli5 gible entities to support aquaculture research

6 that—

7 ‘‘(i) demonstrates strong potential for

8 aquaculture becoming commercially viable;

9 or

10 ‘‘(ii) will assist the United States

11 aquaculture industry in developing aqua12 culture products or processes that will be

13 competitive with aquaculture products or

14 processes of other countries; and

15 ‘‘(B) shall, acting through the executive

16 committee of the interagency aquaculture co17 ordinating group established pursuant to sec18 tion 6, coordinate the implementation of a re19 search program based on the findings contained

20 in the report entitled ‘Report of the Joint Com21 mittee on Aquaculture Task Force on Thera22 peutic Compounds’, published in August 1988.

23 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as pro2 vided in subparagraph (B), the Federal share of

3 the cost of a project carried out under—

4 ‘‘(i) paragraph (1)(A), shall be 80

5 percent; and

6 ‘‘(ii) paragraph (1)(B), shall be 100

7 percent.

8 ‘‘(B) REMAINING SHARE.—The remaining

9 share of the cost of a project carried out under

10 paragraph (1)(A) may be—

11 ‘‘(i) in the form of cash or in-kind

12 payments, or both; and

13 ‘‘(ii) partially comprised of funds

14 made available under other Federal pro15 grams, except that the non-Federal share

16 of the project may not be less than 10 per

17 cent of the cost of the project.

18 ‘‘(c) PRIORITIES.—In making grants or awarding

19 contracts under subsection (b), the Secretary shall give

20 priority to—

21 ‘‘(1) highly focused applied research;

22 ‘‘(2) investigations of new products or processes

23 that demonstrate a high potential for aquaculture

24 commercialization;
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1 ‘‘(3) market development programs for new or

2 improved aquaculture products or processes;

3 ‘‘(4) field testing, commercial field trials, and

4 applications of aquaculture research to private aqua5 culture that would promote the transfer of promising

6 aquaculture technologies to the marketplace;

7 ‘‘(5) activities that have strong potential to cre8 ate employment opportunities; and

9 ‘‘(6) other activities that accelerate the com10 mercialization of promising aquaculture technologies.

11 ‘‘(d) COMPETITIVE REVIEW.—

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible to receive a

13 grant or enter into a contract under subsection (b),

14 a proposal shall undergo competitive review.

15 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE REVIEW PANELS.—A com16 petitive review panel shall be composed of individuals

17 appointed by the Secretary, at least 50 percent of

18 whom work in private aquaculture or are private sec19 tor representatives who understand sound business

20 practices and are qualified to objectively evaluate the

21 likelihood of a proposal being economically successful

22 or promoting economic success within the aqua23 culture industry. Each competitive review panel shall

24 contain at least 1 representative from a regional

25 aquaculture center.
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1 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—A competitive review panel

2 shall base an evaluation of a proposal under this

3 subsection on—

4 ‘‘(A) the quality of the proposal and the

5 research methodology;

6 ‘‘(B) the capability of the participating or7 ganization to perform the proposed work;

8 ‘‘(C) the potential for fostering commer9 cialization, job creation, and increased sales of

10 aquaculture products;

11 ‘‘(D) the amount of matching funds pro12 vided by the supported entity or obtained from

13 non-Federal sources;

14 ‘‘(E) the extent of collaboration with other

15 Federal and State programs;

16 ‘‘(F) the existence of a business plan that

17 reasonably projects the benefits of the support

18 being requested;

19 ‘‘(G) in the case of a noncommercial en20 tity, the existence of a cooperative agreement

21 with a commercial entity;

22 ‘‘(H) whether the project would promote

23 responsible environmental stewardship; and

24 ‘‘(I) such other factors as the competitive

25 review panel determines to be appropriate.
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1 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.—

2 ‘‘(1) REGIONAL AQUACULTURE CENTERS.—Not

3 less than 60 percent of the amounts made available

4 to carry out this section during a fiscal year shall be

5 used to carry out projects that will facilitate the

6 commercialization of preliminary research or inves7 tigations that have been funded or coordinated by

8 regional aquaculture centers.

9 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Not more

10 than 3 percent of the amounts made available to

11 carry out this section during a fiscal year may be

12 used by the Secretary for the expenses of adminis13 tration and information collection and dissemination.

14 ‘‘(3) CONSTRUCTION COSTS.—None of the

15 funds made available under this section may be used

16 for the construction of a new building or the acquisi17 tion, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an exist18 ing building (including site grading and improve19 ment and architect fees).

20 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—An eligible entity that receives a

21 grant or enters into a contract under a project carried out

22 under this section shall submit an annual progress report,

23 and a final report, to the Secretary that—

24 ‘‘(1) describes project activities and commercial

25 and economic accomplishments and impacts; and
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1 ‘‘(2) in the case of an annual progress report,

2 includes a project plan for the subsequent year.

3 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec5 essary to carry out this section.’’.

6 SEC. 8. NATIONAL POLICY FOR PRIVATE AQUACULTURE.

7 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by in8 serting after section 7 (as added by section 7(2)) the fol9 lowing new section:

10 ‘‘SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL POLICY FOR PRI11 VATE AQUACULTURE.

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation

13 with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Inte14 rior, and the heads of other agencies, as appropriate, shall

15 coordinate and implement a national policy for private

16 aquaculture in accordance with this section.

17 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT AQUACULTURE PLAN.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop

19 and implement a Department Aquaculture Plan (re20 ferred to in this section as the ‘plan’) for a unified

21 Department aquaculture program, coordinated by

22 the Director of the Office of Aquaculture of the De23 partment, to support the development of private

24 United States aquaculture.
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1 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PLAN.—The plan shall ad2 dress—

3 ‘‘(A) individual agency programs related to

4 aquaculture in the Department that are consist5 ent with Department programs applied to other

6 agricultural programs, livestock, crops, prod7 ucts, and commodities under the jurisdiction of

8 Department agencies;

9 ‘‘(B) the treatment of cultivated aquatic

10 animals as livestock and cultivated aquatic

11 plants as agricultural crops; and

12 ‘‘(C) means for effective coordination and

13 implementation of aquaculture activities and

14 programs within the Department, including in15 dividual agency commitments of personnel and

16 resources.

17 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after

18 the date of enactment of the National Aquaculture

19 Development, Commercialization, and Promotion Act

20 of 1993, the Secretary shall submit the plan to Con21 gress.

22 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the

23 date of the submission of the plan pursuant to para24 graph (3), and annually thereafter, the Secretary

25 shall report to Congress on actions taken to imple-
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1 ment the plan during the year preceding the date of

2 the report.

3 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION

4 CENTER.—

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out sec6 tion 5, the Secretary shall maintain and sup7 port the National Aquaculture Information

8 Center (referred to in this paragraph as the

9 ‘Center’) as a repository for information on na10 tional and international aquaculture.

11 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Information in the

12 Center shall be made available to the public.

13 ‘‘(C) INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE.—The

14 head of the Center shall arrange with foreign

15 nations for the exchange of information relating

16 to aquaculture and shall support a translation

17 service.

18 ‘‘(D) SUPPORT.—The Center shall provide

19 direct support to the coordinating group.

20 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT

21 PLAN.—

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

23 the date of enactment of the National Aquaculture

24 Development, Commercialization, and Promotion Act

25 of 1993, the Secretary shall revise the National
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1 Aquaculture Development Plan required to be estab2 lished under section 4.

3 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall inte4 grate and coordinate the aquaculture and related

5 missions, major objectives, and program components

6 of individual aquaculture plans of the coordinating

7 group members.

8 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later

9 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Na10 tional Aquaculture Development, Commercialization,

11 and Promotion Act of 1993, the Secretary shall sub12 mit a revised Plan to Congress.

13 ‘‘(4) UPDATES.—Not later than 5 years after

14 the date of the submission of the revised Plan pursu15 ant to paragraph (3), and annually thereafter, the

16 Secretary shall revise the National Aquaculture De17 velopment Plan.

18 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF AQUACULTURE.—The Sec19 retary shall, for all purposes, treat—

20 ‘‘(1) private aquaculture as a form of agri21 culture; and

22 ‘‘(2) aquaculture products produced by private

23 persons and moving in standard commodity channels

24 as agricultural commodities.
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1 ‘‘(e) RESOLUTION OF INTERAGENCY CONFLICT.—In

2 consultation with representatives of affected Federal agen3 cies, the Secretary shall be responsible for resolving any

4 interagency conflict in the coordination or implementation

5 of the policy described in this section.

6 ‘‘(f) PRIVATE AQUACULTURE POLICY COORDINA7 TION, DEVELOPMENT, AND IMPLEMENTATION.—

8 ‘‘(1) RESPONSIBILITY.—The Secretary shall

9 have overall responsibility for coordinating, develop10 ing, and carrying out policies and programs for pri11 vate aquaculture.

12 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Director of the Office of

13 Aquaculture of the Department shall—

14 ‘‘(A) represent the Secretary in all inter15 departmental functions and activities relating to

16 private aquaculture;

17 ‘‘(B) coordinate all intradepartmental

18 functions and activities relating to private aqua19 culture;

20 ‘‘(C) establish formal structures and proce21 dures for the coordination of functions, and

22 consultation, with the coordinating group;

23 ‘‘(D) recommend to the National Agricul24 tural Library methods by which the aquaculture

25 resources of the Library can be made more eas-
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1 ily retrievable and can be more widely dissemi2 nated; and

3 ‘‘(E) report directly to the Secretary in

4 carrying out the duties of the Director.

5 ‘‘(3) LIAISON WITH THE OFFICE.—

6 ‘‘(A) AGENCIES OF THE DEPARTMENT.—

7 To facilitate communication and interaction be8 tween the aquaculture community and the De9 partment, the head of each agency of the De10 partment shall designate an officer or employee

11 of the agency to be the liaison of the agency

12 with the Office of Aquaculture of the Depart13 ment.

14 ‘‘(B) DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE AND

15 INTERIOR.—The Secretary of Commerce and

16 the Secretary of the Interior shall each des17 ignate an officer or employee of their respective

18 Departments to be the liaison of their respec19 tive Departments with the Office of Aqua20 culture of the Department.’’.

21 SEC. 9. POLLUTION ASSESSMENT.

22 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by in23 serting after section 8 (as added by section 8) the follow24 ing new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 9. POLLUTION ASSESSMENT.

2 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator of the Envi3 ronmental Protection Agency is authorized to carry out,

4 in consultation with the Secretary, collaborative inter5 agency programs that demonstrate the application of

6 aquaculture to environmental enhancement and assess7 ment, including a program to assess the impact of pollu8 tion on aquatic organisms and ecosystems using aqua9 culture-raised fish to serve as an indicator of environ10 mental pollution.

11 ‘‘(b) GRANTS; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The

12 Administrator may provide grants or enter into coopera13 tive agreements or contracts with private research organi14 zations for research and demonstration of the technology

15 authorized by this section.’’.

16 SEC. 10. NATIVE AMERICAN FISHPOND REVITALIZATION.

17 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by in18 serting after section 9 (as added by section 9) the follow19 ing new section:

20 ‘‘SEC. 10. NATIVE AMERICAN FISHPOND REVITALIZATION.

21 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF NATIVE AMERICAN.—As used

22 in this section, the term ‘Native American’ means—

23 ‘‘(1) an Indian, as defined in section 4(d) of the

24 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance

25 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(d));
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1 ‘‘(2) a Native Hawaiian, as defined in section

2 8(3) of the Native Hawaiian Health Care Act of

3 1988 (42 U.S.C. 11707(3)) or section 815(3) of the

4 Native American Programs Act (42 U.S.C.

5 2992c(3));

6 ‘‘(3) an Alaska Native, within the meaning pro7 vided for the term ‘Native’ in section 3(b) of the

8 Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C.

9 1602(b)); and

10 ‘‘(4) a Pacific Islander, within the meaning of

11 the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42

12 U.S.C. 2991 et seq.)

13 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary

14 of Agriculture is authorized to carry out a program to revi15 talize fishponds used by Native Americans to cultivate

16 aquatic species.

17 ‘‘(c) GRANTS; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The

18 Secretary may provide grants or enter into cooperative

19 agreements with individuals and organizations, including

20 Native American organizations, to promote fishpond revi21 talization. Funds provided under this section may be used

22 to engage in fishpond research, pond culture technology

23 development, the application of traditional pond culture

24 techniques and modern aquaculture practices to ancient

25 fishponds, technical assistance and technology transfer,
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1 and such other activities as the Secretary determines are

2 appropriate.’’.

3 SEC. 11. DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR AQUACULTURE

4 FARMS.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.)

6 is amended by inserting after section 10 (as added by sec7 tion 10) the following new section:

8 ‘‘SEC. 11. DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR AQUACULTURE

9 FARMS.

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

11 ‘‘(1) DAMAGING WEATHER.—The term ‘damag12 ing weather’ includes drought, hail, excessive mois13 ture, flooding, freeze, tornado, hurricane, earth14 quake, or excessive wind, or any combination there15 of.

16 ‘‘(2) ELIGIBLE AQUACULTURE FARMER.—The

17 term ‘eligible aquaculture farmer’ means a person

18 who produces aquaculture crops for commercial pur19 poses and devotes 100 acres or less to aquaculture

20 cultivation.

21 ‘‘(3) RELATED CONDITION.—The term ‘related

22 condition’ includes insect infestations, plant diseases,

23 or other deterioration of a crop of an aquatic spe24 cies, including aflatoxin, that is accelerated or exac-
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1 erbated naturally as a result of damaging weather

2 occurring prior to or during harvest.

3 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—

4 ‘‘(1) LOSS.—Subject to the limitation in para5 graph (2), the Secretary shall provide assistance, as

6 specified in subsection (c), to eligible aquaculture

7 farmers who suffered losses (including losses due to

8 mortality, crop destruction, or unmarketability) of

9 an aquatic crop as a result of damaging weather or

10 related condition.

11 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—An eligible aquaculture

12 farmer shall qualify for assistance under paragraph

13 (1) only if the loss, as a result of damaging weather

14 or related condition, exceeds 35 percent of the aqua15 culture yield, as determined under subsection (d),

16 for the aquaculture crop.

17 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE.

18 ‘‘(1) PAYMENT RATE.—The Secretary shall

19 make payments to eligible aquaculture farmers at a

20 rate equal to 65 percent of the applicable payment

21 level under paragraph (2), as determined by the Sec22 retary, for any losses.

23 ‘‘(2) PAYMENT LEVEL.—For the purposes of

24 paragraph (l), the payment level for an aquaculture

25 crop shall equal the simple average price received by
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1 producers of the commodity as determined by the

2 Secretary.

3 ‘‘(3) CROP-BY-CROP BASIS.—The Secretary

4 shall make disaster payments under this section on

5 a crop-by-crop basis for each type of aquatic species

6 produced.

7 ‘‘(d) YIELDS.—

8 ‘‘(1) PROVEN YIELDS AVAILABLE.—If an eligi9 ble aquaculture farmer can provide satisfactory evi10 dence to the Secretary of actual aquaculture crop

11 yields on the farm for at least 1 of the immediately

12 preceding 3 years, the aquaculture yield for the farm

13 shall be based on proven yield.

14 ‘‘(2) PROVEN YIELDS NOT AVAILABLE.—If the

15 data referred to in paragraph (1) do not exist for

16 any of the 3 preceding years, the Secretary shall es17 tablish a yield for the farm by using the historical

18 average yield of all producers of the aquaculture

19 crop.

20 ‘‘(3) BEST AVAILABLE DATA.—In establishing

21 historic average yields where proven yields are not

22 available, the Secretary shall use the best available

23 information concerning yields. The information may

24 include Extension Service records, credible non-
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1 governmental studies, and yields at similar aqua2 culture farms.

3 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue regu4 lations—

5 ‘‘(1) defining the term ‘person’ for the purposes

6 of this section, which shall conform, to the extent

7 practicable, to the regulations issued under section

8 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C.

9 1308) and chapter 3 of subtitle B of title XXII of

10 the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act

11 of 1990 (7 U.S.C. 1421 note); and

12 ‘‘(2) prescribing such rules as the Secretary de13 termines necessary to ensure a fair and reasonable

14 application of this section.’’.

15 (b) REPORT ON CROP INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR

16 AQUACULTURE FARMING.—Not later than 1 year after

17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri18 culture shall report to the appropriate committees of Con19 gress on the feasibility of establishing a crop insurance

20 program for aquaculture farming.

21 SEC. 12. AQUACULTURE EDUCATION.

22 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by in23 serting after section 11 (as added by section 11) the fol24 lowing new section:
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1 ‘‘SEC. 12. AQUACULTURE EDUCATION.

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

3 ‘‘(1) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU4 TION.—The term ‘postsecondary vocational institu5 tion’ has the same meaning given the term by sec6 tion 481(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965

7 (20 U.S.C. 1088(c)), except that the term only in8 cludes an institution that awards an associates de9 gree but does not award a bachelor’s degree.

10 ‘‘(2) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘second11 ary school’ has the same meaning given the term by

12 section 1471(21) of the Elementary and Secondary

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

14 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary

15 is authorized to establish a program to expand and im16 prove instruction, on aquaculture and the basic principles

17 of aquaculture farming, in the agriculture curriculum for

18 students attending secondary schools and postsecondary

19 vocational institutions.

20 ‘‘(c) GRANTS AND CURRICULUM.—In carrying out

21 subsection (b), the Secretary may—

22 ‘‘(1) make grants to—

23 ‘‘(A) establish and maintain aquaculture

24 learning centers in secondary schools and post25 secondary vocational institutions;
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1 ‘‘(B) promote aquaculture technology

2 transfer; and

3 ‘‘(C) educate consumers and the public

4 concerning the benefits of aquaculture; and

5 ‘‘(2) develop curriculum and supporting mate6 rials on aquaculture farming, field test the content

7 of the curriculum, and supply training to educators

8 at secondary schools and postsecondary vocational

9 institutions on the aquaculture curriculum and ma10 terials developed.

11 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY FOR GRANTS.—In awarding grants

12 under subsection (c)(1), the Secretary shall give priority

13 to—

14 ‘‘(1) the ability of the proposed aquaculture

15 learning center to gain access to—

16 ‘‘(A) a commercial aquaculture farm;

17 ‘‘(B) a regional aquaculture center estab18 lished by the Secretary under section 1475(d)

19 of the National Agricultural Research, Exten20 sion, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7

21 U.S.C. 3322(d));

22 ‘‘(C) an aquaculture research facility; or

23 ‘‘(D) a similar venture that would afford

24 students the opportunity to experience aqua-
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1 culture research and development or commer2 cialization;

3 ‘‘(2) the ability of the center to achieve out4 reach to minority audiences or students in inner-city

5 schools;

6 ‘‘(3) the ability of the center to foster aware7 ness of aquaculture among consumers and the gen8 eral public;

9 ‘‘(4) the ability of the center to serve as an

10 aquaculture education facility for visiting students

11 participating in a field trip or a similar educational

12 experience for inservice training; and

13 ‘‘(5) the level of assistance to be provided from

14 non-Federal sources.

15 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), a grantee may not receive a grant under

18 this section for more than 5 fiscal years.

19 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—In the case of grantees that re20 ceive grants under this section for fiscal year 1995,

21 the Secretary may waive the application of para22 graph (1) to the grantees for the fiscal year if the

23 Secretary determines that the application of para24 graph (1) to the grantees would result in the termi25 nation of an excessive number of grants.’’.
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1 SEC. 13. INTERNATIONAL AQUACULTURE SCIENTIFIC EX2 CHANGE.

3 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by in4 serting after section 12 (as added by section 12) the fol5 lowing new section:

6 ‘‘SEC. 13. INTERNATIONAL AQUACULTURE SCIENTIFIC EX7 CHANGE.

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—As used in

9 this section, the term ‘eligible entity’ means a regional

10 aquaculture center, college, university, or nonprofit orga11 nization engaged in aquaculture research and education

12 in the United States or a foreign country.

13 ‘‘(b) GRANTS.—The Secretary may make grants to

14 eligible entities to defray the cost, in whole or in part, of

15 allowing aquaculture researchers and aquaculture tech16 nologists to engage in research, education, and demonstra17 tion at the eligible entities for periods of up to 2 years.

18 ‘‘(c) FUNDING.—The Secretary may use proceeds

19 from the payments referred to in section 104(a) of the

20 Agricultural Trade Development and Assistance Act of

21 1954 (7 U.S.C. 1704(a)) to carry out this section.’’.

22 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

23 The first sentence of section 17 (as redesignated by

24 section 7(1)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘There are

25 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act to the

26 Department $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1994
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1 through 2000 (of which not less than $500,000 shall be

2 used for each fiscal year to carry out the Joint Sub3 committee on Aquaculture established under section 6(a)),

4 to the Department of Commerce $1,000,000 for each of

5 fiscal years 1994 through 2000, and to the Department

6 of the Interior $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 1994

7 through 2000.’’.

8 SEC. 15. ELIGIBILITY OF AQUACULTURE FARMERS FOR

9 FARM CREDIT ASSISTANCE.

10 Section 343 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural De11 velopment Act (7 U.S.C. 1991) is amended by striking

12 ‘‘fish farming’’ both places it appears in paragraphs (1)

13 and (2) and inserting ‘‘aquaculture (as the term is defined

14 in section 3(1) of the National Aquaculture Act of 1980

15 (16 U.S.C. 2802(1)))’’.

16 SEC. 16. INTERNATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION

17 AND DATA COLLECTION.

18 Section 502 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978

19 (7 U.S.C. 5692) is amended by adding at the end the fol20 lowing new subsection:

21 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION

22 AND DATA COLLECTION.—

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator of the

24 Foreign Agricultural Service shall establish and

25 carry out a program of data collection, analysis, and
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1 dissemination of information to provide continuing

2 and timely economic information concerning inter3 national aquaculture production.

4 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para5 graph (1), the Administrator shall consult with the

6 Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture established

7 under section 6(a) of the National Aquaculture Act

8 of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2805(a)), and representatives of

9 the United States aquaculture industry, concerning

10 means of effectively providing data described in

11 paragraph (1) to the Joint Subcommittee and the

12 industry.’’.

13 SEC. 17. ELIGIBILITY OF AQUACULTURE FARMS FOR EMER14 GENCY CONSERVATION PROGRAM.

15 Section 401 of the Agricultural Credit Act of 1978

16 (16 U.S.C. 2201) is amended—

17 (1) by inserting ‘‘or aquaculture farms’’ after

18 ‘‘farmlands’’ both places it appears; and

19 (2) by inserting ‘‘or aquaculture farm’’ after

20 ‘‘land’’ each place it appears.

21 SEC. 18. AQUACULTURE INFORMATION NETWORK REPORT.

22 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

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

24 Congress on the feasibility and benefits of expanding cur25 rent information systems at regional aquaculture centers
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1 established by the Secretary under section 1475(d) of the

2 National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching

3 Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3322(d)), universities, re4 search institutions, and the National Agricultural Library

5 to permit an on-line link between those entities for the

6 sharing of data, publication, and technical assistance in7 formation involving aquaculture.

8 SEC. 19. IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture

11 shall report to Congress on the progress made in carrying

12 out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.

13 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection

14 (a) shall include—

15 (1) a description of all programs and activities

16 of the Department of Agriculture and all other agen17 cies and Departments in support of private aqua18 culture;

19 (2) the specific authorities for the activities de20 scribed in paragraph (1); and

21 (3) recommendations for such actions as the

22 Secretary of Agriculture determines are necessary to

23 improve recognition and support of private aqua24 culture in each agency of the Department of Agri25 culture.
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS; REF2 ERENCES.

3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Na4 tional Aquaculture Development, Research, and Promotion

5 Act of 1993’’.

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

7 Act is as follows:

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

Sec. 2. Findings and purpose.

Sec. 3. Definitions.

Sec. 4. National aquaculture development plan.

Sec. 5. National Aquaculture Information Center; assignment of new programs.

Sec. 6. Coordination with the aquaculture industry.

Sec. 7. National policy for private aquaculture.

Sec. 8. Water quality assessment.

Sec. 9. Native American fishpond revitalization.

Sec. 10. Disaster assistance for aquaculture farms.

Sec. 11. Aquaculture education.

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations.

Sec. 13. Eligibility of aquaculture farmers for farm credit assistance.

Sec. 14. International aquaculture information and data collection.

Sec. 15. Aquaculture information network report.

Sec. 16. Voluntary certification of quality standards.

Sec. 17. Implementation report.

8 (c) REFERENCES TO NATIONAL AQUACULTURE ACT OF

9 1980.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in

10 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms of

11 an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provision,

12 the reference shall be considered to be made to a section or

13 other provision of the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (16

14 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.).

15 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

16 (a) FINDINGS.—Subsection (a) of section 2 (16 U.S.C.

17 2801(a)) is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

2 ‘‘(1) The wild harvest or capture of certain sea3 food species exceeds levels of optimum sustainable

4 yield, thereby making it more difficult to meet the in5 creasing demand for aquatic food.

6 ‘‘(2) To satisfy the domestic market for aquatic

7 food, the United States imports more than 59 percent

8 of its seafood. This dependence on imports adversely

9 affects the national balance of payments and contrib10 utes to the uncertainty of supplies and product qual11 ity.

12 ‘‘(3) Although aquaculture currently contributes

13 approximately 16 percent by weight of world seafood

14 production, less than 9 percent by weight of current

15 United States seafood production results from aqua16 culture. As a result, domestic aquaculture production

17 has the potential for significant growth.

18 ‘‘(4) Aquaculture production of aquatic animals

19 and plants is a source of food, industrial materials,

20 pharmaceuticals, energy, and aesthetic enjoyment,

21 and can assist in the control and abatement of pollu22 tion.

23 ‘‘(5) The rehabilitation and enhancement of fish

24 and shellfish resources are desirable applications of

25 aquaculture technology.
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1 ‘‘(6) The principal responsibility for the develop2 ment of aquaculture in the United States must rest

3 with the private sector.

4 ‘‘(7) Despite its potential, the development of

5 aquaculture in the United States has been inhibited

6 by many scientific, economic, legal, and production

7 factors, such as—

8 ‘‘(A) inadequate credit;

9 ‘‘(B) limited research and development and

10 demonstration programs;

11 ‘‘(C) diffused legal jurisdiction;

12 ‘‘(D) inconsistent interpretations between

13 Federal agencies;

14 ‘‘(E) the lack of management information;

15 ‘‘(F) the lack of supportive policies of the

16 Federal Government;

17 ‘‘(G) the lack of therapeutic compounds for

18 treatment of the diseases of aquatic animals and

19 plants; and

20 ‘‘(H) the lack of reliable supplies of seed

21 stock.

22 ‘‘(8) Many areas of the United States are suit23 able for aquaculture, but are subject to land-use or

24 water-use management policies and regulations that

25 do not adequately consider the potential for aqua-
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1 culture and may inhibit the development of aqua2 culture.

3 ‘‘(9) In 1990, the United States ranked only

4 tenth in the world in aquaculture production based

5 on total value of products.

6 ‘‘(10) Despite the current and increasing impor7 tance of private aquaculture to the United States

8 economy and to rural areas in the United States,

9 Federal efforts to nurture aquaculture development

10 have failed to keep pace with the needs of fish and

11 aquatic plant farmers.

12 ‘‘(11) The United States has a premier oppor13 tunity to expand existing aquaculture production and

14 develop new aquaculture industries to serve national

15 needs and the global marketplace.

16 ‘‘(12) United States aquaculture provides whole17 some products for domestic consumers and contributes

18 significantly to employment opportunities and the

19 quality of life in rural areas in the United States.

20 ‘‘(13) Since 1980, the United States trade deficit

21 in edible fishery products has increased by 48 percent,

22 from $1,777,921,000 to $2,634,738,000 in 1991.

23 ‘‘(14) Aquaculture is poised to become a major

24 growth industry of the 21st century. With global sea25 food demand projected to increase 70 percent by 2025,
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1 and harvests from capture fisheries stable or declin2 ing, aquaculture would have to increase production

3 by 700 percent, a total of 77 million metric tons an4 nually.

5 ‘‘(15) Private aquaculture production in the

6 United States has increased an average of 20 percent

7 by weight annually since 1980, and is one of the fast8 est growing segments of United States and world ag9 riculture.

10 ‘‘(16) In 1990, private United States aqua11 culture production was 860,750,000 pounds, worth

12 $761,500,000, up from 203,178,000 pounds, worth

13 $191,977,000, in 1980.

14 ‘‘(17) Since 1960, per capita consumption of

15 aquatic foods in the United States has increased by

16 49 percent to 14.9 pounds in 1991, and could reach

17 20 pounds by the year 2000. Total United States de18 mand is projected to double by 2020.’’.

19 (b) PURPOSE.—Subsection (b) of section 2 (16 U.S.C.

20 2801(b)) is amended to read as follows:

21 ‘‘(b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to pro22 mote aquaculture in the United States by—

23 ‘‘(1) declaring a national aquaculture policy;

24 ‘‘(2) establishing private aquaculture as a form

25 of agriculture;
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1 ‘‘(3) establishing cultivated aquatic animals,

2 plants, microorganisms, and their products produced

3 by private persons and moving in standard commod4 ity channels as agricultural livestock, crops, and com5 modities;

6 ‘‘(4) establishing the Department as the lead

7 Federal agency for the development, implementation,

8 promotion, and coordination of national policy and

9 programs for private aquaculture by—

10 ‘‘(A) designating the Secretary as the per11 manent chairperson of a Federal interagency

12 aquaculture coordinating group;

13 ‘‘(B) assigning overall responsibility to the

14 Secretary for coordinating, developing, and car15 rying out policies and programs for private

16 aquaculture; and

17 ‘‘(C) authorizing the establishment of a Na18 tional Aquaculture Information Center within

19 the Department to support the United States

20 aquaculture industry; and

21 ‘‘(5) encouraging—

22 ‘‘(A) aquaculture activities and programs

23 in both the public and private sectors of the econ24 omy of the United States;
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1 ‘‘(B) the creation of new industries and job

2 opportunities related to aquaculture activities;

3 ‘‘(C) the reduction of the fisheries trade defi4 cit; and

5 ‘‘(D) other national policy benefits deriving

6 from aquaculture activities.’’.

7 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

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

9 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the propaga10 tion’’ and all that follows through the period at the

11 end and inserting ‘‘the controlled cultivation of

12 aquatic plants, animals, and microorganisms.’’;

13 (2) in paragraph (3), by inserting before the pe14 riod at the end the following: ‘‘or microorganism’’;

15 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (7) through (9)

16 as paragraphs (9) through (11), respectively;

17 (4) by redesignating paragraphs (5) and (6) as

18 paragraphs (6) and (7), respectively;

19 (5) by inserting after paragraph (4) the follow20 ing new paragraph:

21 ‘‘(5) The term ‘Department’ means the United

22 States Department of Agriculture.’’; and

23 (6) by inserting before paragraph (9) (as redesig24 nated by paragraph (3)) the following new para25 graph:
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1 ‘‘(8) The term ‘private aquaculture’ means the

2 controlled cultivation of aquatic plants, animals, and

3 microorganisms other than cultivation carried out by

4 the Federal Government or any State or local govern5 ment.’’.

6 SEC. 4. NATIONAL AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT PLAN.

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

8 (1) in the second sentence of subsection (c)—

9 (A) in subparagraph (A), by adding ‘‘and’’

10 at the end;

11 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘;

12 and’’ and inserting a period; and

13 (C) by striking subparagraph (C);

14 (2) in the second sentence of subsection (d), by

15 striking ‘‘Secretaries determine’’ and inserting ‘‘Sec16 retary, in consultation with the other Secretaries, de17 termines’’;

18 (3) in subsection (e)—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretaries’’ and inserting

20 ‘‘Secretary’’; and

21 (B) by inserting ‘‘and in consultation with

22 the other Secretaries and representatives of other

23 Federal agencies’’ after ‘‘coordinating group’’;

24 and
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1 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section:

3 ‘‘(f) ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN AQUACULTURE PRO4 GRAMS.—Not later than December 31, 1994, the Secretary,

5 in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce and the

6 Secretary of the Interior, shall submit to Congress a report

7 evaluating the actions taken in accordance with subsection

8 (d) with respect to the Plan, and making recommendations

9 for updating and modifying the Plan. The report shall also

10 contain a compendium on Federal regulations relating to

11 aquaculture.’’.

12 SEC. 5. NATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION CENTER;

13 ASSIGNMENT OF NEW PROGRAMS.

14 Section 5 (16 U.S.C. 2804) is amended—

15 (1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘Secretaries

16 deem’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary, in consultation with

17 the other Secretaries, considers’’;

18 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(B)—

19 (A) by striking ‘‘Secretary shall—’’ and in20 serting ‘‘Secretary—’’;

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

22 following new clause:

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

24 within the National Agricultural Library, a Na-
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1 tional Aquaculture Information Center that

2 shall—

3 ‘‘(I) serve as a repository and clearing4 house for the information collected under

5 subparagraph (A) and other provisions of

6 this Act;

7 ‘‘(II) carry out a program to notify or8 ganizations, institutions, and individuals

9 known to be involved in aquaculture of the

10 existence of the Center and the kinds of in11 formation that the Center can make avail12 able to the public; and

13 ‘‘(III) make available, on request, in14 formation described in subclause (I) (in15 cluding information collected under sub16 section (e));’’;

17 (C) in clause (ii)—

18 (i) by inserting ‘‘shall’’ before ‘‘ar19 range’’; and

20 (ii) by striking the comma and insert21 ing a semicolon; and

22 (D) in clause (iii), by inserting ‘‘shall’’ be23 fore ‘‘conduct’’;

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

25 striking ‘‘Interior,,’’ and inserting ‘‘Interior,’’; and
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1 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub2 section:

3 ‘‘(e) ASSIGNMENT OF NEW PROGRAMS.—In consulta4 tion with representatives of the United States aquaculture

5 industry and in coordination with the Secretary of the Inte6 rior, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other ap7 propriate Federal agencies, the Secretary may assess Fed8 eral aquatic animal health programs and make rec9 ommendations as to the appropriate assignment to Federal

10 agencies of new programs, initiatives, and activities in sup11 port of aquaculture and resource stewardship and manage12 ment.’’.

13 SEC. 6. COORDINATION WITH THE AQUACULTURE INDUS14 TRY.

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

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

17 end;

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

19 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

20 (3) by adding at the end the following new para21 graph:

22 ‘‘(7) in order to facilitate improved communica23 tion and interaction among aquaculture producers,

24 the aquaculture community, the Federal Government,

25 and the coordinating group, establish a working rela-
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1 tionship with national organizations, commodity as2 sociations, and professional societies representing

3 aquaculture interests.’’.

4 SEC. 7. NATIONAL POLICY FOR PRIVATE AQUACULTURE.

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

6 (1) by redesignating sections 7 through 11 as sec7 tions 12 through 16, respectively; and

8 (2) by inserting after section 6 the following new

9 section:

10 ‘‘SEC. 7. NATIONAL POLICY FOR PRIVATE AQUACULTURE.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consultation

12 with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Inte13 rior, and the heads of other agencies, as appropriate, shall

14 coordinate and implement a national policy for private

15 aquaculture in accordance with this section.

16 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT AQUACULTURE PLAN.—

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

18 and implement a Department Aquaculture Plan (re19 ferred to in this section as the ‘plan’) for a unified

20 Department aquaculture program to support the de21 velopment of private United States aquaculture.

22 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PLAN.—The plan shall ad23 dress—

24 ‘‘(A) individual agency programs related to

25 aquaculture in the Department that are consist-
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1 ent with Department programs applied to other

2 agricultural programs, livestock, crops, products,

3 and commodities under the jurisdiction of De4 partment agencies;

5 ‘‘(B) the treatment of cultivated aquatic

6 animals as livestock and cultivated aquatic

7 plants as agricultural crops; and

8 ‘‘(C) means for effective coordination and

9 implementation of aquaculture activities and

10 programs within the Department, including in11 dividual agency commitments of personnel and

12 resources.

13 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—Not later than 1 year after the

14 date of enactment of the National Aquaculture Devel15 opment, Research, and Promotion Act of 1993, the

16 Secretary shall submit the plan to Congress.

17 ‘‘(4) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the

18 date of the submission of the plan pursuant to para19 graph (3), and annually thereafter, the Secretary

20 shall report to Congress on actions taken to imple21 ment the plan during the year preceding the date of

22 the report.

23 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION

24 CENTER.—
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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out section

2 5, the Secretary may maintain and support a

3 National Aquaculture Information Center (re4 ferred to in this paragraph as the ‘Center’) as a

5 repository for information on national and

6 international aquaculture.

7 ‘‘(B) PUBLIC ACCESS.—Information in the

8 Center shall be made available to the public.

9 ‘‘(C) INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE.—The

10 head of the Center shall arrange with foreign na11 tions for the exchange of information relating to

12 aquaculture and shall support a translation

13 service.

14 ‘‘(D) SUPPORT.—The Center shall provide

15 direct support to the coordinating group.

16 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT

17 PLAN.—

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

19 the date of enactment of the National Aquaculture De20 velopment, Research, and Promotion Act of 1993, the

21 Secretary shall revise the National Aquaculture Devel22 opment Plan required to be established under section

23 4.

24 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall inte25 grate and coordinate the aquaculture and related mis-
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1 sions, major objectives, and program components of

2 individual aquaculture plans of the coordinating

3 group members.

4 ‘‘(3) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not later than

5 1 year after the date of enactment of the National

6 Aquaculture Development, Research, and Promotion

7 Act of 1993, the Secretary shall submit a revised Plan

8 to Congress.

9 ‘‘(4) UPDATES.—Not later than 5 years after the

10 date of the submission of the revised Plan pursuant

11 to paragraph (3), and annually thereafter, the Sec12 retary shall revise the National Aquaculture Develop13 ment Plan.

14 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF AQUACULTURE.—The Secretary

15 shall, for all purposes, treat—

16 ‘‘(1) private aquaculture as a form of agri17 culture; and

18 ‘‘(2) cultivated aquatic animals, plants, and

19 microorganisms, and products of the animals, plants,

20 and microorganisms, produced by private persons

21 and moving in standard commodity channels as agri22 cultural livestock, crops, and commodities.

23 ‘‘(e) RESOLUTION OF INTERAGENCY CONFLICT.—In

24 consultation with representatives of affected Federal agen25 cies, the Secretary shall be responsible for resolving any
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1 interagency conflict in the coordination or implementation

2 of the policy described in this section.

3 ‘‘(f) PRIVATE AQUACULTURE POLICY COORDINATION,

4 DEVELOPMENT, AND IMPLEMENTATION.—

5 ‘‘(1) RESPONSIBILITY.—The Secretary shall have

6 overall responsibility for coordinating, developing,

7 and carrying out policies and programs for private

8 aquaculture.

9 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Secretary shall—

10 ‘‘(A) coordinate all intradepartmental func11 tions and activities relating to private aqua12 culture;

13 ‘‘(B) establish procedures for the coordina14 tion of functions, and consultation, with the co15 ordinating group; and

16 ‘‘(C) recommend to the National Agricul17 tural Library methods by which the aquaculture

18 resources of the Library can be made more easily

19 retrievable and can be more widely disseminated.

20 ‘‘(3) LIAISON.—

21 ‘‘(A) AGENCIES OF THE DEPARTMENT.—To

22 facilitate communication and interaction be23 tween the aquaculture community and the De24 partment, the head of each agency of the Depart25 ment shall, if requested by the Secretary, des-
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1 ignate an officer or employee of the agency to be

2 the liaison of the agency with the Secretary.

3 ‘‘(B) DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE AND IN4 TERIOR.—The Secretary of Commerce and the

5 Secretary of the Interior shall each designate an

6 officer or employee of their respective Depart7 ments to be the liaison of their respective Depart8 ments with the Secretary.’’.

9 SEC. 8. WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT.

10 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by insert11 ing after section 7 (as added by section 7) the following

12 new section:

13 ‘‘SEC. 8. WATER QUALITY ASSESSMENT.

14 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator of the Envi15 ronmental Protection Agency is authorized to carry out, in

16 collaboration with the Secretary, collaborative interagency

17 programs that demonstrate the application of aquaculture

18 to environmental enhancement and assessment, including

19 a program to assess the environmental impact of water20 borne contaminants on naturally occurring aquatic orga21 nisms and ecosystems using aquaculture-raised organisms

22 to serve as an indicator of environmental pollution.

23 ‘‘(b) GRANTS; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Ad24 ministrator may provide grants or enter into cooperative

25 agreements or contracts with private research organizations
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1 for research and demonstration of the technology authorized

2 by this section.’’.

3 SEC. 9. NATIVE AMERICAN FISHPOND REVITALIZATION.

4 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by insert5 ing after section 8 (as added by section 8) the following

6 new section:

7 ‘‘SEC. 9. NATIVE AMERICAN FISHPOND REVITALIZATION.

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION OF NATIVE AMERICAN.—As used in

9 this section, the term ‘Native American’ means—

10 ‘‘(1) an Indian, as defined in section 4(d) of the

11 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance

12 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(d));

13 ‘‘(2) a Native Hawaiian, as defined in section

14 8(3) of the Native Hawaiian Health Care Act of 1988

15 (42 U.S.C. 11707(3)) or section 815(3) of the Native

16 American Programs Act (42 U.S.C. 2992c(3));

17 ‘‘(3) an Alaska Native, within the meaning pro18 vided for the term ‘Native’ in section 3(b) of the Alas19 ka Native Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1602(b));

20 and

21 ‘‘(4) a Pacific Islander, within the meaning of

22 the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42

23 U.S.C. 2991 et seq.)

24 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary of

25 Agriculture is authorized to carry out a program to revital-
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1 ize fishponds used by Native Americans to cultivate aquatic

2 species.

3 ‘‘(c) GRANTS; COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Sec4 retary may provide grants or enter into cooperative agree5 ments with individuals and organizations, including Na6 tive American organizations, to promote fishpond revital7 ization. Funds provided under this section may be used to

8 engage in fishpond research, pond culture technology devel9 opment, the application of traditional pond culture tech10 niques and modern aquaculture practices to ancient

11 fishponds, technical assistance and technology transfer, and

12 such other activities as the Secretary determines are appro13 priate.’’.

14 SEC. 10. DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR AQUACULTURE PRO15 DUCERS.

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

18 1421 note) is amended—

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

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

21 and

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

23 aquatic species raised for human or animal consump24 tion,’’ after ‘‘was not available for crop year 1990,’’.
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1 (b) LIMITATION.—The amendments made by sub2 section (a) shall apply only to the extent appropriations

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

4 to carry out the amendments.

5 SEC. 11. AQUACULTURE EDUCATION.

6 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by insert7 ing after section 9 (as added by section 9) the following

8 new section:

9 ‘‘SEC. 10. AQUACULTURE EDUCATION.

10 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:

11 ‘‘(1) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU12 TION.—The term ‘postsecondary vocational institu13 tion’ has the same meaning given the term by section

14 481(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20

15 U.S.C. 1088(c)), except that the term only includes an

16 institution that awards an associates degree but does

17 not award a bachelor’s degree.

18 ‘‘(2) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘secondary

19 school’ has the same meaning given the term by sec20 tion 1471(21) of the Elementary and Secondary Edu21 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 2891(21)).

22 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATION OF PROGRAM.—The Secretary is

23 authorized to establish a program to expand and improve

24 instruction, on aquaculture and the basic principles of

25 aquaculture farming, in the agriculture curriculum for stu-
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1 dents attending secondary schools and postsecondary voca2 tional institutions.

3 ‘‘(c) GRANTS AND CURRICULUM.—In carrying out sub4 section (b), the Secretary may—

5 ‘‘(1) make grants to—

6 ‘‘(A) establish and maintain aquaculture

7 learning centers in secondary schools and post8 secondary vocational institutions;

9 ‘‘(B) promote aquaculture technology trans10 fer; and

11 ‘‘(C) educate consumers and the public con12 cerning the benefits of aquaculture; and

13 ‘‘(2) develop curriculum and supporting mate14 rials on aquaculture farming, field test the content of

15 the curriculum, and supply training to educators at

16 secondary schools and postsecondary vocational insti17 tutions on the aquaculture curriculum and materials

18 developed.

19 ‘‘(d) PRIORITY FOR GRANTS.—In awarding grants

20 under subsection (c)(1), the Secretary shall give priority

21 to—

22 ‘‘(1) the ability of the proposed aquaculture

23 learning center to gain access to—

24 ‘‘(A) a commercial aquaculture farm;
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1 ‘‘(B) a regional aquaculture center estab2 lished by the Secretary under section 1475(d) of

3 the National Agricultural Research, Extension,

4 and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C.

5 3322(d));

6 ‘‘(C) an aquaculture research facility; or

7 ‘‘(D) a similar venture that would afford

8 students the opportunity to experience aqua9 culture research and development or commer10 cialization;

11 ‘‘(2) the ability of the center to achieve outreach

12 to minority audiences or students in inner-city

13 schools;

14 ‘‘(3) the ability of the center to foster awareness

15 of aquaculture among consumers and the general pub16 lic;

17 ‘‘(4) the ability of the center to serve as an aqua18 culture education facility for visiting students par19 ticipating in a field trip or a similar educational ex20 perience for inservice training; and

21 ‘‘(5) the level of assistance to be provided from

22 non-Federal sources.

23 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—
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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graph (2), a grantee may not receive a grant under

3 this section for more than 5 fiscal years.

4 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—In the case of grantees that re5 ceive grants under this section for fiscal year 1995,

6 the Secretary may waive the application of para7 graph (1) to the grantees for the fiscal year if the Sec8 retary determines that the application of paragraph

9 (1) to the grantees would result in the termination of

10 an excessive number of grants.’’.

11 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

12 The first sentence of section 15 (as redesignated by sec13 tion 7(1)) is amended to read as follows: ‘‘There are author14 ized to be appropriated to carry out this Act (including

15 the functions of the Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture es16 tablished under section 6(a)) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal

17 years 1994 and 1995.’’.

18 SEC. 13. ELIGIBILITY OF AQUACULTURE FARMERS FOR

19 FARM CREDIT ASSISTANCE.

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

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

22 amended by striking ‘‘fish farming’’ both places it appears

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

24 the term is defined in section 3(1) of the National Aqua25 culture Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2802(1)))’’.
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1 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by sub2 section (a) shall become effective on October 1, 1994.

3 SEC. 14. INTERNATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION

4 AND DATA COLLECTION.

5 Section 502 of the Agricultural Trade Act of 1978 (7

6 U.S.C. 5692) is amended by adding at the end the following

7 new subsection:

8 ‘‘(d) INTERNATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION

9 AND DATA COLLECTION.—

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized

11 to establish and carry out a program of data collec12 tion, analysis, and dissemination of information to

13 provide continuing and timely economic information

14 concerning international aquaculture production.

15 ‘‘(2) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out para16 graph (1), the Secretary shall consult with the Joint

17 Subcommittee on Aquaculture established under sec18 tion 6(a) of the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (16

19 U.S.C. 2805(a)), and representatives of the United

20 States aquaculture industry, concerning means of ef21 fectively providing data described in paragraph (1) to

22 the Joint Subcommittee and the industry.’’.

23 SEC. 15. AQUACULTURE INFORMATION NETWORK REPORT.

24 Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment

25 of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall report to Con-
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1 gress on the feasibility of expanding current information

2 systems at regional aquaculture centers established by the

3 Secretary under section 1475(d) of the National Agricul4 tural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977

5 (7 U.S.C. 3322(d)), universities, research institutions, and

6 the National Agricultural Library to permit an on-line link

7 between those entities for the sharing of data, publication,

8 and technical assistance information involving aquaculture.

9 SEC. 16. VOLUNTARY CERTIFICATION OF QUALITY STAND10 ARDS.

11 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by insert12 ing after section 10 (as added by section 11) the following

13 new section:

14 ‘‘SEC. 11. VOLUNTARY CERTIFICATION OF QUALITY STAND15 ARDS.

16 ‘‘The Secretary shall develop, in consultation with rep17 resentatives of the aquaculture industry, a plan for vol18 untary certification of guidelines to ensure the quality of

19 aquatic species subject to this Act in order to promote the

20 marketing and transportation of aquaculture products.’’.

21 SEC. 17. IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture

24 shall report to Congress on the progress made in carrying

25 out this Act and the amendments made by this Act.
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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection (a)

2 shall include—

3 (1) a description of all programs and activities

4 of the Department of Agriculture and all other agen5 cies and Departments in support of private aqua6 culture;

7 (2) the specific authorities for the activities de8 scribed in paragraph (1); and

9 (3) recommendations for such actions as the Sec10 retary of Agriculture determines are necessary to im11 prove recognition and support of private aquaculture

12 in each agency of the Department of Agriculture.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to provide for

the coordination and implementation of a national aquaculture policy for the private sector by the Secretary of

Agriculture, to establish an aquaculture development and

research program, and for other purposes.’’.

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