II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2859 

To amend the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 to prohibit the issuance 

of permits for marine aquaculture facilities until requirements for such 

permits are enacted into law. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 

Ms. MURKOWSKI introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 to prohibit 

the issuance of permits for marine aquaculture facilities 

until requirements for such permits are enacted into 

law. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Natural Stock Con5 servation Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PROHIBITION ON PERMITS FOR AQUACULTURE. 

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

8 2801 et seq.) is amended— 
2 

•S 2859 IS 

1 (1) by redesignating sections 10 and 11 as sec2 tions 11 and 12 respectively; and 

3 (2) by inserting after section 9 the following 

4 new section: 

5 PROHIBITION ON PERMITS FOR AQUACULTURE

6 ‘‘SEC. 10. (a) IN GENERAL.—The head of an agency 

7 with jurisdiction to regulate aquaculture may not issue a 

8 permit or license to permit an aquaculture facility located 

9 in the exclusive economic zone to operate until after the 

10 date on which a bill is enacted into law that— 

11 ‘‘(1) sets out the type and specificity of the 

12 analyses that the head of an agency with jurisdiction 

13 to regulate aquaculture shall carry out prior to 

14 issuing any such permit or license, including anal15 yses related to— 

16 ‘‘(A) disease control; 

17 ‘‘(B) structural engineering; 

18 ‘‘(C) pollution; 

19 ‘‘(D) biological and genetic impacts; 

20 ‘‘(E) access and transportation; 

21 ‘‘(F) food safety; and 

22 ‘‘(G) social and economic impacts of such 

23 facility on other marine activities, including 

24 commercial and recreational fishing; and 
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•S 2859 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) requires that a decision to issue such a 

2 permit or license be— 

3 ‘‘(A) made only after the head of the agen4 cy that issues such license or permit consults 

5 with the Governor of each State located within 

6 a 200-mile radius of the aquaculture facility; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(B) approved by the regional fishery man9 agement council that is granted authority under 

10 title III of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con11 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

12 1851 et seq.) over a fishery in the region where 

13 the aquaculture facility will be located. 

14 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) AGENCY WITH JURISDICTION TO REGU16 LATE AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘agency with juris17 diction to regulate aquaculture’ means each agency 

18 and department of the United States, as follows: 

19 ‘‘(A) The Department of Agriculture. 

20 ‘‘(B) The Coast Guard. 

21 ‘‘(C) The Department of Commerce. 

22 ‘‘(D) The Environmental Protection Agen23 cy. 

24 ‘‘(E) The Department of the Interior. 

25 ‘‘(F) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 
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•S 2859 IS 

1 ‘‘(2) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.—The term 

2 ‘exclusive economic zone’ has the meaning given that 

3 term in section 3 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 

4 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

5 1802). 

6 ‘‘(3) REGIONAL FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUN7 CIL.—The term ‘regional fishery management coun8 cil’ means a regional fishery management council es9 tablished under section 302(a) of the Magnuson-Ste10 vens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 

11 U.S.C. 1852(a)).’’. 

Æ