of enforcing laws under the official’s jurisdiction or other-
wise carrying out the official’s responsibilities). Such an 
official may inspect, at reasonable times, records, files, pa-
pers, permits, processes, controls, and the offshore aqua-
culture facility and may test any feature of the offshore 
aquaculture facility. Each inspection shall be conducted 
with reasonable promptness. The permit holder shall re-
ceive timely notification, in writing, of the results of the 
inspection. 
(c) INSPECTION.— 
(1) FREQUENCY.—The Secretary shall con-
duct— 
(A) an annual inspection of offshore aqua-
culture facilities for which a permit is issued 
under section 6 for the first 5 years after 
issuance of the permit; and 
(B) a biennial inspection of such facilities 
thereafter. 
(2) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall provide rea-
sonable notice prior to site inspections at offshore 
aquaculture facilities pursuant to paragraph (1). 
(3) FACILITIES LOCATED ON THE OUTER CON-
TINENTAL SHELF.—The Secretary of the Interior, or 
a designee of such Secretary, is authorized with in-
spection authority under subsection (b)(1) for ma-
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rine aquaculture facilities located on the outer conti-
nental shelf. 
SEC. 9. PROGRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE-
MENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall initiate and 
lead programmatic environmental impact statements (re-
ferred to in this section as ‘‘EISs’’) for areas of the exclu-
sive economic zone determined by the Secretary to be 
highly favorable for marine aquaculture and likely compat-
ible with other uses of such areas. 
(b) DISTRIBUTION.—The programmatic EISs con-
ducted by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a) need 
not cover the entirety of the exclusive economic zone, but 
the Secretary shall attempt to provide coverage in each 
area of the exclusive economic zone, including the East 
Coast, Gulf Coast, West Coast, and other areas of the At-
lantic and Pacific in the jurisdiction of the United States. 
(c) REQUIREMENTS.—The following shall apply: 
(1) Programmatic EISs shall not supersede the 
requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 
(2) Individual projects may require additional 
review pursuant to the National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) to support 
project-level decisionmaking and to analyze specific 
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issues of concern to other Federal agencies, States, 
and other stakeholders at the project level. 
(3) Programmatic and project-specific processes 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act 
of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) described in this 
section should consider all public input, including 
local and regional concerns. 
SEC. 10. ENVIRONMENTAL AND MANAGEMENT STANDARDS. 
In issuing permits under section 6 and conducting the 
programmatic environmental impact statements under 
section 9, the Secretary shall— 
(1) consult with appropriate Federal agencies, 
coastal States, and regional fishery management 
councils to identify the environmental and manage-
ment requirements and standards that apply to off-
shore aquaculture under existing Federal and State 
laws (including regulations); and 
(2) consider environmental and management 
factors that apply to offshore aquaculture under ex-
isting Federal and State law that— 
(A) are compatible with the use of the ex-
clusive economic zone for navigation, fishing, 
resource protection, recreation, national defense 
(including military readiness), mineral and en-
ergy exploration and development, transpor-
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tation, and other activities within the exclusive 
economic zone; 
(B) are consistent with conservation and 
management measures under the Magnuson- 
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) and will not un-
reasonably interfere with fishing access; 
(C) recognize the importance of fishery re-
sources to fishing communities as described in 
section 301(a)(8) of the Magnuson-Stevens 
Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 
U.S.C. 1851(a)(8)); 
(D) to the extent practicable, avoid, mini-
mize, or mitigate adverse impacts to the marine 
environment; 
(E) avoid, minimize, or mitigate to the ex-
tent practicable the risk to and impacts on wild 
fish stocks and fisheries; 
(F) use only cultured species in Federal 
waters that are described in section 6(b)(2); 
(G) prevent the transmission of disease or 
parasites to wild stocks; 
(H) prevent the escape of culture species 
that may cause significant environmental harm; 
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(I) minimize the risks and impacts on bio-
logical, chemical, and physical features of water 
quality; and 
(J) avoid, minimize, or mitigate, to the ex-
tent practicable, the cumulative adverse effects 
of the offshore aquaculture operation in consid-
eration of other existing offshore aquaculture 
operations in the vicinity of the proposed site. 
SEC. 11. RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish, in 
consultation with applicable Federal agencies, coastal 
States, tribal governments, regional fishery management 
councils, academic institutions, and interested stake-
holders, a research and development grant program to fur-
ther the purposes of this Act. In carrying out this sub-
section, the Secretary shall consider utilizing existing pro-
grams that leverage State and local partnerships and take 
advantage of the extramural research community, includ-
ing the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program, the National 
Sea Grant College Program, the National Oceanographic 
Partnership Program, and consortium of institutions. 
(b) COMPONENTS.—The research and development 
grant program shall award competitive, peer-reviewed 
grants to fund research and extension services— 
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(1) to improve the understanding and applica-
tion of larviculture for improving larval survival and 
breeding practices for cultured species and species of 
future interest for marine aquaculture; 
(2) to advance the understanding and applica-
tion of genetics research with respect to cultured 
species and potential interactions with wild stocks; 
(3) to advance research into cultured species 
disease and management, mitigation, and prevention 
of disease, including efforts to support the develop-
ment of comprehensive fish health management 
tools, including access to safe and effective vaccines, 
therapeutants, and therapies; 
(4) to develop cost-effective alternative feeds to 
optimize the use of wild fish, fish oil, plants, and al-
ternative sources of protein and lipids in marine 
aquaculture feeds and maintain the human health 
benefits of cultured seafood; 
(5) to improve techniques for monitoring, as-
sessing, and addressing environmental and socio-
economic effects; 
(6) to develop and evaluate methodologies to 
prevent, minimize, and mitigate potential adverse 
ecosystem and socioeconomic impacts of marine 
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aquaculture, including methods for avoiding inter-
actions with living marine resources; 
(7) to conduct research to document and in-
crease the potential positive effects of marine aqua-
culture; 
(8) to transition innovative aquaculture tech-
nologies, including technologies focused on the com-
mercialization of high-value marine species, from 
laboratory studies to commercial and restoration 
projects that create new, and support existing, jobs 
in coastal communities, produce healthful locally 
sourced seafood, revitalize working waterfronts, sup-
port traditional fishing communities, and restore de-
pleted species and habitat; 
(9) to advance engineering solutions for marine 
aquaculture, to develop new technologies, to design 
engineering innovations to reduce the potential for 
environmental impacts of marine aquaculture facili-
ties, and to refine existing aquaculture cultivation 
practices; 
(10) to monitor and assess the effects of envi-
ronmental changes on marine aquaculture, and de-
velop adaptation strategies; 
(11) to enhance and develop seafood marketing 
programs for aquaculture species as part of broader 
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Federal seafood marketing initiatives to promote 
trade in both wild-caught and farmed seafood under 
existing grant programs; and 
(12) to investigate other priority issues identi-
fied by the Secretary. 
(c) COORDINATION WITH OTHER FEDERAL PRO-
GRAMS.—The Secretary shall— 
(1) coordinate aquaculture research and devel-
opment grants within the Department of Commerce 
and with other Federal programs that provide grant 
funding for purposes similar to those under sub-
section (b), such as grants administered by the Na-
tional Sea Grant College Program and the National 
Institute of Standards and Technology; and 
(2) coordinate the research and development 
grant program established in this section with the 
interagency aquaculture coordinating group estab-
lished under section 6 of the National Aquaculture 
Act of 1980 (16 U.S.C. 2805) and with the research 
and development conducted through the Cooperative 
Extension System of the Department of Agriculture. 
(d) COOPERATIVE
RESEARCH
AGREEMENT.—To 
carry out this section, the Secretary may enter into a coop-
erative agreement with a State, institution of higher edu-
cation, or other private institution or research center. 
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SEC. 12. ENFORCEMENT. 
(a) PROHIBITED ACTS.—It is unlawful for any per-
son— 
(1) to violate any provision of this Act or any 
regulation or permit issued pursuant to this Act; 
(2) to refuse to permit any officer authorized to 
enforce the provisions of this Act (in accordance 
with subsection (b)) access an offshore aquaculture 
facility subject to such person’s control, or any on-
shore facility, vessel, or other conveyance associated 
with such facility, for purposes of conducting any 
search or inspection in connection with the enforce-
ment of this Act or any regulation or permit referred 
to in paragraph (1); 
(3) to assault, resist, oppose, impede, intimi-
date, or interfere with any such authorized officer in 
the conduct of any search or inspection described in 
paragraph (2); 
(4) to resist a lawful arrest for any act prohib-
ited by this subsection; 
(5) to ship, transport, offer for sale, sell, pur-
chase, import, export, or have custody, control, or 
possession of, any fish produced, taken, retained, or 
possessed in violation of this Act or any regulation 
or permit referred to in paragraph (1); 
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(6) to interfere with, delay, or prevent, by any 
means, the apprehension or arrest of another person, 
knowing that such other person has committed any 
act prohibited by this subsection; 
(7) to knowingly and willfully submit to the 
Secretary or the Governor of a State false informa-
tion regarding any matter that the Secretary or Gov-
ernor is considering in the course of carrying out 
this Act; or 
(8) without authorization, to remove, damage, 
or tamper with— 
(A) an offshore aquaculture facility owned 
by another person, which is located in the exclu-
sive economic zone, including any component 
thereof; or 
(B) cultured species contained in such fa-
cility or component thereof. 
(b) AUTHORITIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The authorities and respon-
sibilities under subsections (a), (b), (c), and (e) of 
section 311 and subsection (f) of section 308 of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Man-
agement Act (16 U.S.C. 1861, 1858) and para-
graphs (2), (3), and (7) of section 310(b) of the 
Antarctic Marine Living Resources Convention Act 
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of 1984 (16 U.S.C. 2439(b)) shall apply with re-
spect to enforcement of this Act. 
(2) 
INCLUDED
FACILITIES
AND
CONVEY-
ANCES.—For purposes of enforcing this Act, any 
reference in the subsections and paragraphs listed in 
paragraph (1)— 
(A) to a ‘‘vessel’’ or ‘‘fishing vessel’’ in-
cludes all offshore aquaculture facilities, and all 
associated onshore facilities, vessels, and other 
conveyances; and 
(B) to ‘‘fish’’, ‘‘marine resource’’, or ‘‘ma-
rine resources’’ includes cultured species. 
(3) APPLICATION OF OTHER PROVISIONS.—The 
subsections and paragraphs listed in paragraph (1) 
apply to violations of this Act and any regulations 
promulgated under this Act. 
(c) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.—Any person who commits 
any act that is unlawful under subsection (a) shall be lia-
ble to the United States for a civil penalty, and may be 
subject to a permit sanction, under section 308(g) of the 
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Manage-
ment Act (16 U.S.C. 1858(g)). 
(d) FORFEITURE.—Any offshore aquaculture facility, 
and any associated onshore facilities, vessel, or other con-
veyance (including its gear, furniture, appurtenances, 
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stores, and cargo) used, and any cultured species (or the 
fair market value thereof) produced, taken, sold, pur-
chased, retained, imported, exported, or possessed in con-
nection with or as result of the commission of any act pro-
hibited by subsection (a) shall be subject to forfeiture 
under section 310 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Con-
servation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1860). 
(e) CRIMINAL ENFORCEMENT.—Any person who 
commits any act prohibited by paragraph (2), (3), (4), (6), 
or (7) of subsection (a) is guilty of an offense under sec-
tion 309 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation 
and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1859). 
(f) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Notwithstanding any other 
provision of law, no enforcement action under this Act 
may take place without a warrant, if a warrant would be 
required for the enforcement of a similar provision of law 
under Federal or applicable State law. 
SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro-
priated to the Secretary for the purpose of carrying out 
this Act— 
(1) $60,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; 
(2) $65,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; 
(3) $70,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; 
(4) $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; and 
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(5) $80,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that, in expending amounts appropriated under sub-
section (a), the Secretary should prioritize the pro-
grammatic environmental impact statement program 
under section 9. 
Æ 
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