I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1461 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Administrator of the National 

Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to carry out a study on coastal 

seaweed farming, issue regulation relating to such farming, and establish 

an Indigenous seaweed farming fund, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2023 

Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself and Mrs. PELTOLA) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, and Energy and Commerce, for 

a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for 

consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture and the Administrator 

of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

to carry out a study on coastal seaweed farming, issue 

regulation relating to such farming, and establish an 

Indigenous seaweed farming fund, and for other purposes. 

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


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Coastal Seaweed Farm 

3 Act of 2023’’. 

4 SEC. 2. PROGRAM ON COASTAL SEAWEED FARMING. 

5 (a) PRELIMINARY STUDY ON COASTAL SEAWEED

6 FARMING.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

8 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secre9 taries shall jointly submit a preliminary report to 

10 Congress and publish such report on such Secre11 taries’ agency websites analyzing— 

12 (A) the effects of coastal seaweed farming 

13 on surrounding communities, the ecosystem, 

14 and marine and coastal wildlife; 

15 (B) best practices for cultivating and 

16 sourcing local seeds to propagate for coastal 

17 seaweed farming; 

18 (C) best practices to prevent the escape or 

19 spread of any organism that would alter the 

20 natural ecosystem or present a biofouling risk; 

21 (D) best practices relating to species selec22 tion, harvesting cycles, spatial planning and 

23 siting, engineering and design, and environ24 mental aspects of coastal seaweed farming 

25 that— 


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1 (i) maximize benefits, and avoid ad2 verse effects, on the marine ecosystem and 

3 marine and coastal wildlife; 

4 (ii) lead to optimal yields; 

5 (iii) account for the impact climate 

6 change may have on natural habitats and 

7 coastal seaweed farming operations; 

8 (iv) minimize entanglements and other 

9 harmful interactions between marine life 

10 and nearshore seaweed farming infrastruc11 ture and gear; 

12 (v) account for changes in migration 

13 patterns of marine mammals and highly 

14 migratory species (as defined in section 3 

15 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con16 servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 

17 1802)); and 

18 (vi) account for and avoid interference 

19 with competing uses, including vessel traf20 fic and commercial and recreational fish21 ing; 

22 (E) the potential for growing seaweed for 

23 long-term carbon sequestration and best prac24 tices for measurement, reporting, and 

25 verification approaches for growing seaweed for 


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1 long-term carbon sequestration specific to the 

2 sequestration reservoir; 

3 (F) the effects of co-cultivation of bivalves 

4 with seaweed on the ecosystem, ocean acidifica5 tion, and hypoxia levels; 

6 (G) the effects of coastal seaweed farming 

7 on water quality; 

8 (H) best practices for limiting the use of 

9 plastic in coastal seaweed farming gear; 

10 (I) the history and use of Indigenous and 

11 traditional seaweed farming practices; 

12 (J) best practices for sustainable harvest 

13 and post-harvest processing of coastal seaweed 

14 farming products, including methods of reduc15 ing energy costs; 

16 (K) scalable commercial applications for 

17 value-added seaweed or products derived from 

18 seaweed, including as feedstock for animals and 

19 other agricultural, commercial, and industrial 

20 applications; 

21 (L) processes for processing, storage, and 

22 transportation of seaweed that are cost-effec23 tive, reduce carbon emissions from transpor24 tation, and efficient; 


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1 (M) assessment of existing and potential 

2 markets and market capacity for major cul3 tivated seaweed species; 

4 (N) development of baseline economic anal5 yses and business planning models for major 

6 cultivated seaweed species; 

7 (O) the effects of water quality on the 

8 quality of cultivated seaweed for human con9 sumption, including the absorption of toxic 

10 heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants; 

11 (P) best practices for onshore farming 

12 issues that reduce energy requirements to pump 

13 water and include management of effluent, spa14 tial planning and address conflicting uses of the 

15 onshore coastal zone; and 

16 (Q) best practices in efficient and effective 

17 Federal and State regulatory systems for coast18 al seaweed farming. 

19 (2) CONSULTATION.—In preparing the report 

20 under paragraph (1), the Secretaries shall consult 

21 with— 

22 (A) the Interagency Working Group on In23 digenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge, 

24 with respect to— 


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1 (i) kelp, seaweed, and shellfish cultiva2 tion; 

3 (ii) the use of Tribal waters for coast4 al seaweed farming; 

5 (iii) the impact and benefits of coastal 

6 seaweed farming on Tribal waters; and 

7 (iv) best practices for engaging with 

8 Tribes on matters relating to coastal sea9 weed farming; 

10 (B) coastal or historically coastal federally 

11 recognized Tribes, State recognized Tribes, and 

12 Inter-Tribal organizations; 

13 (C) the Interagency Working Group on Re14 search for Farming of Seaweeds and 

15 Seagrasses; 

16 (D) the Interagency Working Group on 

17 Ocean Acidification; 

18 (E) National Science and Technology 

19 Council’s Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture; 

20 and 

21 (F) such other Federal, State, Tribal, and 

22 local government agencies as the Secretary de23 termines appropriate. 

24 (3) UPDATE.—The Secretaries shall, not later 

25 than 2 years after the date on which the report reVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:28 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1461.IH H1461

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1 quired under paragraph (1) is submitted, submit an 

2 updated report to Congress based on pertinent infor3 mation derived from Federal research programs, the 

4 grant program established under subsection (c), and 

5 other sources of information. 

6 (4) REPORT ON REGULATION OF SEAWEED

7 FOOD SAFETY.—The Commissioner of Food and 

8 Drugs shall, not later than 180 days after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act and in consultation 

10 with such State agencies as the Commissioner deter11 mines appropriate, submit a report to Congress 

12 making regulatory and legislative recommendations 

13 to improve Federal regulation of seaweed for human 

14 consumption, focusing on standards and testing 

15 methods to identify, address, and prevent contami16 nation by bacteria, heavy metals, and pathogens. 

17 (b) REGULATIONS.—The Secretaries shall, not later 

18 than 1 year after the publication of the study required 

19 by subsection (a), issue such regulations as the Secretaries 

20 determine appropriate to— 

21 (1) ensure that design, development, siting, spe22 cies selection, operation, and production systems of 

23 coastal seaweed farming maximize potential benefits, 

24 and avoid potential adverse effects, on the marine 


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1 ecosystem, wildlife, and fisheries and surrounding 

2 communities; and 

3 (2) establish evaluation metrics to measure the 

4 impact and benefits of coastal seaweed farming on— 

5 (A) the marine ecosystem, including ma6 rine wildlife, biodiversity, productivity, water 

7 quality, and stored carbon; and 

8 (B) surrounding communities, including 

9 relating to the equitable distribution of costs 

10 and benefits (economic and environmental) 

11 within such communities; and 

12 (3) require monitoring and reporting relating 

13 to— 

14 (A) any adverse effects on the marine eco15 system and wildlife, including entanglements of 

16 marine life; and 

17 (B) any effects on commercial and rec18 reational fishing. 

19 (c) INDIGENOUS SEAWEED FARMING FUND.— 

20 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretaries shall, 

21 not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act, jointly establish the Indigenous Seaweed 

23 Farming Fund to provide grants to eligible entities 

24 for the purpose of supporting coastal seaweed farm25 ing, including— 


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1 (A) obtaining, planting, growing, and 

2 maintaining a coastal seaweed farm; 

3 (B) purchasing equipment for coastal sea4 weed farm operations; 

5 (C) transportation, processing, and storage 

6 of coastal seaweed farm products; 

7 (D) funding for development and use of 

8 models and measurements to identify and miti9 gate adverse impacts of coastal seaweed farm10 ing, including monitoring and signal buoys; and 

11 (E) to operate a coastal seaweed farm that 

12 performs restorative ecological functions, in13 cluding providing essential habitat to native 

14 species. 

15 (2) OUTREACH.—The Secretaries shall— 

16 (A) conduct outreach and use existing pro17 grams and initiatives to make eligible entities 

18 aware of the Indigenous Seaweed Farming 

19 Fund; 

20 (B) solicit comments and recommendations 

21 relating to each stage of the operation of the 

22 grant program established under subsection (a); 

23 (C) solicit scientific input from eligible en24 tities, including through public meetings noticed 


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1 in advance and in such languages as are appro2 priate for the community; and 

3 (D) prepare, publish, and distribute to in4 stitutions of higher learning, including voca5 tional schools training materials for individuals 

6 engaged in coastal seaweed farming and indi7 viduals seeking employment relating to such 

8 farming, including Indigenous youth. 

9 (3) PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS.—No 

10 funds provided under this subsection may be used 

11 for any purpose that the Secretary of Commerce or 

12 the head of a State or Tribal fishery management 

13 agency determines will have an adverse affect on 

14 commercial fisheries. 

15 (4) LIMITATION ON SIZE OF FARMS.—The Sec16 retaries shall, by regulation, determine a maximum 

17 size for coastal seaweed farming operations that may 

18 receive funding under this subsection. 

19 (5) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretaries 

20 shall, at the request of an applicant or grantee, pro21 vide technical assistance to such applicant or grantee 

22 to further the purposes of this subsection. 

23 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis2 trator’’ means the Administrator of the National 

3 Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

4 (2) SEAWEED.—The term ‘‘seaweed’’ means 

5 macroscopic multicellular marine algae species. 

6 (3) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible enti7 ty’’ means— 

8 (A) a federally recognized Tribe, Native 

9 Village, or Tribal reservation; 

10 (B) a State recognized Tribe (as such term 

11 is defined in section 4 of the Native American 

12 Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act 

13 of 1996); 

14 (C) a Native person of— 

15 (i) Hawaii; 

16 (ii) a Pacific Island; 

17 (iii) Puerto Rico; or 

18 (iv) the United States Virgin Islands; 

19 (D) a member of an entity described in 

20 subparagraphs (A) or (B); or 

21 (E) any entity owned entirely by an entity 

22 described in subparagraphs (A) through (C). 

23 (4) FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED TRIBE.—The 

24 term ‘‘federally recognized Tribe’’ has the meaning 

25 given to the term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ in section 4 of the 


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1 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

2 18 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

3 (5) COASTAL SEAWEED FARMING.—The term 

4 ‘‘coastal seaweed farming’’ means the onshore or 

5 nearshore propagation and harvesting of seaweed 

6 and seaweed products within the coastal zone (as 

7 such term is defined in section 304 of the Coastal 

8 Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453)) 

9 that— 

10 (A) does not use— 

11 (i) synthetic pesticides (as the term 

12 ‘‘pesticide’’ is defined in section 2 of the 

13 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and 

14 Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136)); and 

15 (ii) plastics, unless a suitable replace16 ment does not exist; and 

17 (B) does not produce fin fish for commer18 cial purposes. 

19 (6) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

20 means the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec21 retary of Commerce, acting through the Under Sec22 retary for Oceans and Atmosphere. 

23 (e) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

24 authorized to be appropriated— 


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1 (1) $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 

2 through 2027 to carry out subsections (a) and (b); 

3 and 

4 (2) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 

5 through 2027 to carry out subsections (c), (d), and 

6 (e). 

Æ 


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