II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1288

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, and Mr.

PELL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

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.

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

2 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.

3 (c) REFERENCES TO NATIONAL AQUACULTURE ACT

4 OF 1980.—Except as otherwise expressly provided, when5 ever in this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in

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

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

8 a section or other provision of the National Aquaculture

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

10 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

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

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

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

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

15 certain seafood species exceeds levels of optimum
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1 sustainable yield, thereby making it more difficult to

2 meet the increasing demand for aquatic food.

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

4 food, the United States imports more than 59 per5 cent of its seafood. This dependence on imports ad6 versely affects the national balance of payments and

7 contributes to the uncertainty of supplies and prod8 uct quality.

9 ‘‘(3) Although aquaculture currently contributes

10 approximately 16 percent by weight of world seafood

11 production, less than 9 percent by weight of current

12 United States seafood production results from aqua13 culture. As a result, domestic aquaculture produc14 tion has the potential for significant growth.

15 ‘‘(4) Aquaculture production of aquatic animals

16 and plants can provide sources for food, industrial

17 materials, pharmaceuticals, energy, and aesthetic en18 joyment, and can assist in the control and abate19 ment of pollution.

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

21 and shellfish resources are desirable applications of

22 aquaculture technology.

23 ‘‘(6) The principal responsibility for the devel24 opment of aquaculture in the United States must

25 rest with the private sector.
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1 ‘‘(7) Despite its potential, the development of

2 aquaculture in the United States has been inhibited

3 by many scientific, economic, legal, and production

4 factors, such as—

5 ‘‘(A) inadequate credit;

6 ‘‘(B) limited research and development

7 programs;

8 ‘‘(C) diffused legal jurisdiction;

9 ‘‘(D) inconsistent interpretations between

10 Federal agencies;

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

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

13 Federal Government;

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

15 treatment of the diseases of aquatic animals

16 and plants; and

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

18 stock.

19 ‘‘(8) Many areas of the United States are suit20 able for aquaculture, but are subject to land-use or

21 water-use management policies and regulations that

22 do not adequately consider the potential for aqua23 culture and may inhibit the development of aqua24 culture.
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1 ‘‘(9) In 1990, the United States ranked only

2 tenth in the world in aquaculture production based

3 on total value of products.

4 ‘‘(10) Despite the current and increasing im5 portance of private aquaculture to the United States

6 economy and to rural areas in the United States,

7 Federal efforts to nurture aquaculture development

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

9 aquatic plant farmers.

10 ‘‘(11) The United States has a premier oppor11 tunity to develop an important new agricultural in12 dustry to serve national needs and the global mar13 ketplace.

14 ‘‘(12) United States aquaculture provides

15 wholesome products for domestic consumers and

16 contributes significantly to the quality of life in rural

17 areas in the United States.

18 ‘‘(13) Since 1980, the United States trade defi19 cit in edible fishery products foods has increased by

20 48 percent, from $1,777,921,000 to $2,634,738,000

21 in 1991.

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

23 growth industry of the 21st century. With global

24 seafood demand projected to increase 70 percent by

25 2025, and harvests from capture fisheries stable or
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1 declining, aquaculture would have to increase pro2 duction by 700 percent, a total of 77 million metric

3 tons annually.

4 ‘‘(15) Private aquaculture production in the

5 United States has increased an average of 20 per6 cent by weight annually since 1980, and is one of

7 the fastest growing segments of United States and

8 world agriculture.

9 ‘‘(16) In 1990, private United States aqua10 culture production was 860,750,000 pounds, worth

11 $761,500,000 to United States fish farmers, up

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

13 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

18 demand is projected to double by 2020.’’.

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

20 U.S.C. 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

5 commodities;

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) establishing a National Aquaculture

18 Information Center within the Department to

19 support the United States aquaculture industry;

20 and

21 ‘‘(5) encouraging—

22 ‘‘(A) aquaculture activities and programs

23 in both the public and private sectors of the

24 economy 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

4 deficit; 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

10 propogation’’ and all that follows through the period

11 at the end and inserting ‘‘the controlled cultivation

12 of aquatic plants and animals.’’;

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

16 (9) 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 redes24 ignated 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 and animals

3 other than cultivation carried out by, or under con4 tract with, the Federal Government or any State or

5 local government.’’.

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,

17 determines’’;

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

23 other Federal agencies’’ after ‘‘coordinating

24 group’’; 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 Sec5 retary, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce

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

7 a report evaluating the actions taken in accordance with

8 subsection (d) with respect to the Plan, and making rec9 ommendations for updating and modifying the Plan. The

10 report shall also contain a compendium on Federal regula11 tions relating to aquaculture.’’.

12 SEC. 5. NATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION CENTER;

13 ASSIGNMENT OF NEW PROGRAMS; MARKET

14 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.

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

16 (1) in subsection (b)(3), by striking ‘‘Secretar17 ies deem’’ and inserting ‘‘Secretary, in consultation

18 with the other Secretaries, considers’’;

19 (2) in subsection (c)(1)(B)—

20 (A) by striking clause (i) and inserting the

21 following new clause:

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

23 within the National Agricultural Library, a Na24 tional Aquaculture Information Center that

25 shall—
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1 ‘‘(I) serve as a repository and clear2 inghouse for the information collected

3 under subparagraph (A) and other provi4 sions of this Act;

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

6 organizations, institutions, and individuals

7 known to be involved in aquaculture of the

8 existence of the Center and the kinds of in9 formation that the Center can make avail10 able to the public; and

11 ‘‘(III) make available, on request, in12 formation described in subclause (I) (in13 cluding information collected under sub14 section (e));’’; and

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

16 and inserting a semicolon;

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

18 striking ‘‘Interior,,’’ and inserting ‘‘Interior,’’; and

19 (4) by adding at the end the following new sub20 sections:

21 ‘‘(e) ASSIGNMENT OF NEW PROGRAMS.—In consulta22 tion with representatives of the United States aquaculture

23 industry and in coordination with the Secretary of the In24 terior, the Secretary of Commerce, and the heads of other

25 appropriate Federal agencies, the Secretary shall assess
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1 Federal aquatic animal health programs and make rec2 ommendations as to the appropriate assignment to Fed3 eral agencies of new programs, initiatives, and activities

4 in support of aquaculture and resource stewardship and

5 management.

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

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

8 expend for aquaculture export promotion, research, devel9 opment, education, market development, and demonstra10 tion projects, for each fiscal year, an amount equal to the

11 aquaculture production percentage of the funds remaining

12 available to the Department for the fiscal year under sec13 tion 32 of the Act entitled ‘An Act to amend the Agricul14 tural Adjustment Act, and for other purposes’, approved

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

16 of the first 5 sentences of such section.

17 ‘‘(ii) As used in clause (i), the term ‘aquaculture pro18 duction percentage’ means the annual weight of aqua19 culture products of the United States divided by the an20 nual weight of fisheries landings of the United States

21 (other than landings that are not used for human con22 sumption).

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

24 funds required to be expended pursuant to subparagraph
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1 (A)(i) for the purpose of strengthening aquaculture mar2 kets, income, and supply.

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

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

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

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

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

8 each fiscal year, the Secretary may expend the funds re9 maining available to the Department for the fiscal year

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

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

12 approved August 14, 1935 (7 U.S.C. 612c), after the ap13 plication of paragraph (1).

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

15 to the Department for the fiscal year under section 32

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

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

18 Aquaculture Information Center established under sub19 section (c)(1)(B)(i) for activities of the Center during the

20 fiscal year the lesser of—

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

22 ‘‘(B)(i) $1,000,000; minus

23 ‘‘(ii) the lesser of—

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

25 under paragraph (2); or
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1 ‘‘(II) $1,000,000.’’.

2 SEC. 6. COORDINATION WITH THE AQUACULTURE INDUS3 TRY.

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

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

6 end;

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

8 the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

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

10 paragraph:

11 ‘‘(7) in order to facilitate improved communica12 tion and interaction among aquaculture producers,

13 the aquaculture community, the Federal Govern14 ment, and the coordinating group, establish a work15 ing relationship with—

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

17 regional aquaculture centers established by the

18 Secretary under section 1475(d) of the National

19 Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching

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

21 ‘‘(B) national organizations, commodity as22 sociations, and professional societies represent23 ing aquaculture interests.’’.

24 SEC. 7. AQUACULTURE COMMERCIALIZATION RESEARCH.

25 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended—
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1 (1) by redesignating sections 7 through 11 as

2 sections 14 through 18, respectively; and

3 (2) by inserting after section 6 the following

4 new section:

5 ‘‘SEC. 7. AQUACULTURE COMMERCIALIZATION RESEARCH.

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

7 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘eligible en8 tity’ means a public or private research or edu9 cational organization, private company, regional cen10 ter, Federal, State, or regional agency, or individual

11 that is eligible to receive a grant or enter into a con12 tract under this section.

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

14 term ‘regional aquaculture center’ means an

15 aquacultural research, development, and demonstra16 tion center established under section 1475(d) of the

17 National Agricultural Research, Extension, and

18 Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3322(d)).

19 ‘‘(b) ASSISTANCE AND COORDINATION.—

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary—

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

22 of making grants and awarding contracts to eli23 gible entities to support aquaculture research

24 that—
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1 ‘‘(i) demonstrates strong potential for

2 aquaculture becoming commercially viable;

3 or

4 ‘‘(ii) will assist the United States

5 aquaculture industry in developing aqua6 culture products or processes that will be

7 competitive with aquaculture products or

8 processes of other countries; and

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

10 committee of the interagency aquaculture co11 ordinating group established pursuant to sec12 tion 6, coordinate the implementation of a re13 search program based on the findings contained

14 in the report entitled ‘Report of the Joint Com15 mittee on Aquaculture Task Force on Thera16 peutic Compounds’, published in August 1988.

17 ‘‘(2) COST SHARE.—

18 ‘‘(A) FEDERAL SHARE.—Except as pro19 vided in subparagraph (B), the Federal share of

20 the cost of a project carried out under—

21 ‘‘(i) paragraph (1)(A), shall be 80

22 percent; and

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

24 percent.
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1 ‘‘(B) REMAINING SHARE.—The remaining

2 share of the cost of a project carried out under

3 paragraph (1)(A) may be—

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

5 payments, or both; and

6 ‘‘(ii) partially comprised of funds

7 made available under other Federal pro8 grams, except that the non-Federal share

9 of the project may not be less than 10 per

10 cent of the cost of the project.

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

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

13 priority to—

14 ‘‘(1) highly focused applied research;

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

16 that demonstrate a high potential for aquaculture

17 commercialization;

18 ‘‘(3) market development programs for new or

19 improved aquaculture products or processes;

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

21 applications of aquaculture research to private aqua22 culture that would promote the transfer of promising

23 aquaculture technologies to the marketplace;

24 ‘‘(5) activities that have strong potential to cre25 ate employment opportunities; and
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1 ‘‘(6) other activities that accelerate the com2 mercialization of promising aquaculture technologies.

3 ‘‘(d) COMPETITIVE REVIEW.—

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

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

6 a proposal shall undergo competitive review.

7 ‘‘(2) COMPETITIVE REVIEW PANELS.—A com8 petitive review panel shall be composed of individuals

9 appointed by the Secretary, at least 50 percent of

10 whom work in private aquaculture or are private sec11 tor representatives who understand sound business

12 practices and are qualified to objectively evaluate the

13 likelihood of a proposal being economically successful

14 or promoting economic success within the aqua15 culture industry. Each competitive review panel shall

16 contain at least 1 representative from a regional

17 aquaculture center.

18 ‘‘(3) EVALUATION.—A competitive review panel

19 shall base an evaluation of a proposal under this

20 subsection on—

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

22 research methodology;

23 ‘‘(B) the capability of the participating or24 ganization to perform the proposed work;
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1 ‘‘(C) the potential for fostering commer2 cialization, job creation, and increased sales of

3 aquaculture products;

4 ‘‘(D) the amount of matching funds pro5 vided by the supported entity or obtained from

6 non-Federal sources;

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

8 Federal and State programs;

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

10 reasonably projects the benefits of the support

11 being requested;

12 ‘‘(G) in the case of a noncommercial en13 tity, the existence of a cooperative agreement

14 with a commercial entity;

15 ‘‘(H) whether the project would promote

16 responsible environmental stewardship; and

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

18 review panel determines to be appropriate.

19 ‘‘(e) LIMITATIONS.—

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

21 less than 60 percent of the amounts made available

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

23 used to carry out projects that will facilitate the

24 commercialization of preliminary research or inves-
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1 tigations that have been funded or coordinated by

2 regional aquaculture centers.

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

4 than 3 percent of the amounts made available to

5 carry out this section during a fiscal year may be

6 used by the Secretary for the expenses of adminis7 tration and information collection and dissemination.

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

9 funds made available under this section may be used

10 for the construction of a new building or the acquisi11 tion, expansion, remodeling, or alteration of an exist12 ing building (including site grading and improve13 ment and architect fees).

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

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

16 under this section shall submit an annual progress report,

17 and a final report, to the Secretary that—

18 ‘‘(1) describes project activities and commercial

19 and economic accomplishments and impacts; and

20 ‘‘(2) in the case of an annual progress report,

21 includes a project plan for the subsequent year.

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

23 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are nec24 essary to carry out this section.’’.
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1 SEC. 8. NATIONAL POLICY FOR PRIVATE AQUACULTURE.

2 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by in3 serting after section 7 (as added by section 7(2)) the fol4 lowing new section:

5 ‘‘SEC. 8. IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONAL POLICY FOR PRI6 VATE AQUACULTURE.

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

8 with the Secretary of Commerce, the Secretary of the Inte9 rior, and the heads of other agencies, as appropriate, shall

10 coordinate and implement a national policy for private

11 aquaculture in accordance with this section.

12 ‘‘(b) DEPARTMENT AQUACULTURE PLAN.—

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

14 and implement a Department Aquaculture Plan (re15 ferred to in this section as the ‘plan’) for a unified

16 Department aquaculture program, coordinated by

17 the Director of the Office of Aquaculture of the De18 partment, to support the development of private

19 United States aquaculture.

20 ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF PLAN.—The plan shall ad21 dress—

22 ‘‘(A) individual agency programs related to

23 aquaculture in the Department that are consist24 ent with Department programs applied to other

25 agricultural programs, livestock, crops, prod-
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1 ucts, and commodities under the jurisdiction of

2 Department agencies;

3 ‘‘(B) the treatment of cultivated aquatic

4 animals as livestock and cultivated aquatic

5 plants as agricultural crops; and

6 ‘‘(C) means for effective coordination and

7 implementation of aquaculture activities and

8 programs within the Department, including in9 dividual agency commitments of personnel and

10 resources.

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

12 the date of enactment of the National Aquaculture

13 Development, Commercialization, and Promotion Act

14 of 1993, the Secretary shall submit the plan to Con15 gress.

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

17 date of the submission of the plan pursuant to para18 graph (3), and annually thereafter, the Secretary

19 shall report to Congress on actions taken to imple20 ment the plan during the year preceding the date of

21 the report.

22 ‘‘(5) NATIONAL AQUACULTURE INFORMATION

23 CENTER.—

24 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out sec25 tion 5, the Secretary shall maintain and sup-
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1 port the National Aquaculture Information

2 Center (referred to in this paragraph as the

3 ‘Center’) as a repository for information on na4 tional and international aquaculture.

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

6 Center shall be made available to the public.

7 ‘‘(C) INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE.—The

8 head of the Center shall arrange with foreign

9 nations for the exchange of information relating

10 to aquaculture and shall support a translation

11 service.

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

13 direct support to the coordinating group.

14 ‘‘(c) NATIONAL AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT

15 PLAN.—

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

17 the date of enactment of the National Aquaculture

18 Development, Commercialization, and Promotion Act

19 of 1993, the Secretary shall revise the National

20 Aquaculture Development Plan required to be estab21 lished under section 4.

22 ‘‘(2) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall inte23 grate and coordinate the aquaculture and related

24 missions, major objectives, and program components
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1 of individual aquaculture plans of the coordinating

2 group members.

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

4 than 1 year after the date of enactment of the Na5 tional Aquaculture Development, Commercialization,

6 and Promotion Act of 1993, the Secretary shall sub7 mit a revised Plan to Congress.

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

9 the date of the submission of the revised Plan pursu10 ant to paragraph (3), and annually thereafter, the

11 Secretary shall revise the National Aquaculture De12 velopment Plan.

13 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF AQUACULTURE.—The Sec14 retary shall, for all purposes, treat—

15 ‘‘(1) private aquaculture as a form of agri16 culture; and

17 ‘‘(2) aquaculture products produced by private

18 persons and moving in standard commodity channels

19 as agricultural commodities.

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

21 consultation with representatives of affected Federal agen22 cies, the Secretary shall be responsible for resolving any

23 interagency conflict in the coordination or implementation

24 of the policy described in this section.
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1 ‘‘(f) PRIVATE AQUACULTURE POLICY COORDINA2 TION, DEVELOPMENT, AND IMPLEMENTATION.—

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

4 have overall responsibility for coordinating, develop5 ing, and carrying out policies and programs for pri6 vate aquaculture.

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

8 Aquaculture of the Department shall—

9 ‘‘(A) represent the Secretary in all inter10 departmental functions and activities relating to

11 private aquaculture;

12 ‘‘(B) coordinate all intradepartmental

13 functions and activities relating to private aqua14 culture;

15 ‘‘(C) establish formal structures and proce16 dures for the coordination of functions, and

17 consultation, with the coordinating group;

18 ‘‘(D) recommend to the National Agricul19 tural Library methods by which the aquaculture

20 resources of the Library can be made more eas21 ily retrievable and can be more widely dissemi22 nated; and

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

24 carrying out the duties of the Director.

25 ‘‘(3) LIAISON WITH THE OFFICE.—
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1 ‘‘(A) AGENCIES OF THE DEPARTMENT.—

2 To facilitate communication and interaction be3 tween the aquaculture community and the De4 partment, the head of each agency of the De5 partment shall designate an officer or employee

6 of the agency to be the liaison of the agency

7 with the Office of Aquaculture of the Depart8 ment.

9 ‘‘(B) DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE AND

10 INTERIOR.—The Secretary of Commerce and

11 the Secretary of the Interior shall each des12 ignate an officer or employee of their respective

13 Departments to be the liaison of their respec14 tive Departments with the Office of Aqua15 culture of the Department.’’.

16 SEC. 9. POLLUTION ASSESSMENT.

17 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by in18 serting after section 8 (as added by section 8) the follow19 ing new section:

20 ‘‘SEC. 9. POLLUTION ASSESSMENT.

21 ‘‘(a) ASSESSMENT.—The Administrator of the Envi22 ronmental Protection Agency is authorized to carry out,

23 in consultation with the Secretary, collaborative inter24 agency programs that demonstrate the application of

25 aquaculture to environmental enhancement and assess-
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1 ment, including a program to assess the impact of pollu2 tion on aquatic organisms and ecosystems using aqua3 culture-raised fish to serve as an indicator of environ4 mental pollution.

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

6 Administrator may provide grants or enter into coopera7 tive agreements or contracts with private research organi8 zations for research and demonstration of the technology

9 authorized by this section.’’.

10 SEC. 10. NATIVE AMERICAN FISHPOND REVITALIZATION.

11 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by in12 serting after section 9 (as added by section 9) the follow13 ing new section:

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

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

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

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

18 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance

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

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

21 8(3) of the Native Hawaiian Health Care Act of

22 1988 (42 U.S.C. 11707(3)) or section 815(3) of the

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

24 2992c(3));
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1 ‘‘(3) an Alaska Native, within the meaning pro2 vided for the term ‘Native’ in section 3(b) of the

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

4 1602(b)); and

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

6 the Native American Programs Act of 1974 (42

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

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

9 of Agriculture is authorized to carry out a program to revi10 talize fishponds used by Native Americans to cultivate

11 aquatic species.

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

13 Secretary may provide grants or enter into cooperative

14 agreements with individuals and organizations, including

15 Native American organizations, to promote fishpond revi16 talization. Funds provided under this section may be used

17 to engage in fishpond research, pond culture technology

18 development, the application of traditional pond culture

19 techniques and modern aquaculture practices to ancient

20 fishponds, technical assistance and technology transfer,

21 and such other activities as the Secretary determines are

22 appropriate.’’.
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1 SEC. 11. DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR AQUACULTURE

2 FARMS.

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

4 is amended by inserting after section 10 (as added by sec5 tion 10) the following new section:

6 ‘‘SEC. 11. DISASTER ASSISTANCE FOR AQUACULTURE

7 FARMS.

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

9 ‘‘(1) DAMAGING WEATHER.—The term ‘damag10 ing weather’ includes drought, hail, excessive mois11 ture, flooding, freeze, tornado, hurricane, earth12 quake, or excessive wind, or any combination there13 of.

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

15 term ‘eligible aquaculture farmer’ means a person

16 who produces aquaculture crops for commercial pur17 poses and devotes 100 acres or less to aquaculture

18 cultivation.

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

20 condition’ includes insect infestations, plant diseases,

21 or other deterioration of a crop of an aquatic spe22 cies, including aflatoxin, that is accelerated or exac23 erbated naturally as a result of damaging weather

24 occurring prior to or during harvest.

25 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—
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1 ‘‘(1) LOSS.—Subject to the limitation in para2 graph (2), the Secretary shall provide assistance, as

3 specified in subsection (c), to eligible aquaculture

4 farmers who suffered losses (including losses due to

5 mortality, crop destruction, or unmarketability) of

6 an aquatic crop as a result of damaging weather or

7 related condition.

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

9 farmer shall qualify for assistance under paragraph

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

11 or related condition, exceeds 35 percent of the aqua12 culture yield, as determined under subsection (d),

13 for the aquaculture crop.

14 ‘‘(c) ASSISTANCE.

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

16 make payments to eligible aquaculture farmers at a

17 rate equal to 65 percent of the applicable payment

18 level under paragraph (2), as determined by the Sec19 retary, for any losses.

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

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

22 crop shall equal the simple average price received by

23 producers of the commodity as determined by the

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

2 shall make disaster payments under this section on

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

4 produced.

5 ‘‘(d) YIELDS.—

6 ‘‘(1) PROVEN YIELDS AVAILABLE.—If an eligi7 ble aquaculture farmer can provide satisfactory evi8 dence to the Secretary of actual aquaculture crop

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

10 preceding 3 years, the aquaculture yield for the farm

11 shall be based on proven yield.

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

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

14 any of the 3 preceding years, the Secretary shall es15 tablish a yield for the farm by using the historical

16 average yield of all producers of the aquaculture

17 crop.

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

19 historic average yields where proven yields are not

20 available, the Secretary shall use the best available

21 information concerning yields. The information may

22 include Extension Service records, credible non23 governmental studies, and yields at similar aqua24 culture farms.
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1 ‘‘(e) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall issue regu2 lations—

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

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

5 practicable, to the regulations issued under section

6 1001 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C.

7 1308) and chapter 3 of subtitle B of title XXII of

8 the Food, Agriculture, Conservation, and Trade Act

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

10 ‘‘(2) prescribing such rules as the Secretary de11 termines necessary to ensure a fair and reasonable

12 application of this section.’’.

13 (b) REPORT ON CROP INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR

14 AQUACULTURE FARMING.—Not later than 1 year after

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agri16 culture shall report to the appropriate committees of Con17 gress on the feasibility of establishing a crop insurance

18 program for aquaculture farming.

19 SEC. 12. AQUACULTURE EDUCATION.

20 The Act (16 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.) is amended by in21 serting after section 11 (as added by section 11) the fol22 lowing new section:

23 ‘‘SEC. 12. AQUACULTURE EDUCATION.

24 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section:
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1 ‘‘(1) POSTSECONDARY VOCATIONAL INSTITU2 TION.—The term ‘postsecondary vocational institu3 tion’ has the same meaning given the term by sec4 tion 481(c) of the Higher Education Act of 1965

5 (20 U.S.C. 1088(c)), except that the term only in6 cludes an institution that awards an associates de7 gree but does not award a bachelor’s degree.

8 ‘‘(2) SECONDARY SCHOOL.—The term ‘second9 ary school’ has the same meaning given the term by

10 section 1471(21) of the Elementary and Secondary

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

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

13 is authorized to establish a program to expand and im14 prove instruction, on aquaculture and the basic principles

15 of aquaculture farming, in the agriculture curriculum for

16 students attending secondary schools and postsecondary

17 vocational institutions.

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

19 subsection (b), the Secretary may—

20 ‘‘(1) make grants to—

21 ‘‘(A) establish and maintain aquaculture

22 learning centers in secondary schools and post23 secondary vocational institutions;

24 ‘‘(B) promote aquaculture technology

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

2 concerning the benefits of aquaculture; and

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

5 of the curriculum, and supply training to educators

6 at secondary schools and postsecondary vocational

7 institutions on the aquaculture curriculum and ma8 terials developed.

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

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

11 to—

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

13 learning center to gain access to—

14 ‘‘(A) a commercial aquaculture farm;

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

17 of the National Agricultural Research, Exten18 sion, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7

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

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

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

22 students the opportunity to experience aqua23 culture research and development or commer24 cialization;
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1 ‘‘(2) the ability of the center to achieve out2 reach to minority audiences or students in inner-city

3 schools;

4 ‘‘(3) the ability of the center to foster aware5 ness of aquaculture among consumers and the gen6 eral public;

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

8 aquaculture education facility for visiting students

9 participating in a field trip or a similar educational

10 experience for inservice training; and

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

12 non-Federal sources.

13 ‘‘(e) LIMITATION.—

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), a grantee may not receive a grant under

16 this section for more than 5 fiscal years.

17 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—In the case of grantees that re18 ceive grants under this section for fiscal year 1995,

19 the Secretary may waive the application of para20 graph (1) to the grantees for the fiscal year if the

21 Secretary determines that the application of para22 graph (1) to the grantees would result in the termi23 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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