[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3417 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
111th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3417
To prohibit offshore aquaculture until 3 years after the submission of
a report on the impacts of offshore aquaculture, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 25, 2010
Mr. Vitter introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To prohibit offshore aquaculture until 3 years after the submission of
a report on the impacts of offshore aquaculture, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Research in Aquaculture Opportunity
and Responsibility Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Aquatic species.--The term ``aquatic species'' means
all species that are propagated, reared, or grown in salt or
brackish water, including finfish, mollusks, crustaceans,
algae, and all forms of marine life, other than sea turtles,
marine mammals, and birds.
(2) Coastal state.--The term ``coastal State'' means--
(A) a State in, or bordering on, the Atlantic,
Pacific, or Arctic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or Long
Island Sound; and
(B) Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Trust
Territories of the Pacific Islands, and American Samoa.
(3) Coastline.--The term ``coastline'' means the line of
ordinary low water along that portion of the coast that is in
direct contact with the open sea and the line marking the
seaward limit of inland waters.
(4) Exclusive economic zone.--
(A) Definition.--The term ``exclusive economic
zone'' means, unless otherwise specified by the
President in the public interest in a writing published
in the Federal Register, a zone, the outer boundary of
which is 200 nautical miles from the baseline from
which the breadth of the territorial sea is measured,
except as established by a maritime boundary treaty in
force, or being provisionally applied by the United
States or, in the absence of such a treaty where the
distance between the United States and another nation
is less than 400 nautical miles, a line equidistant
between the United States and the other nation. Without
affecting any Presidential Proclamation with regard to
the establishment of the United States territorial sea
or exclusive economic zone, the inner boundary of that
zone is--
(i) a line coterminous with the seaward
boundary (as defined in section 4 of the
Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1312)) of each
coastal State;
(ii) a line 3 marine leagues from the
coastline of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;
(iii) a line 3 geographical miles from the
coastlines of American Samoa, the United States
Virgin Islands, and Guam;
(iv) for the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands--
(I) its coastline, until such time
as the Commonwealth of the Northern
Mariana Islands is granted authority by
the United States to regulate all
fishing to a line seaward of its
coastline; and
(II) upon the United States grant
of such authority, the line established
by such grant of authority; and
(v) for any possession of the United States
not described in clause (ii), (iii), or (iv),
the coastline of such possession.
(B) Construction.--Nothing in this paragraph may be
construed as diminishing the authority of the
Department of Defense or the Department of the
Interior.
(5) Executive agency.--The term ``Executive agency'' has
the meaning given that term in section 105 of title 5, United
States Code.
(6) Land-based recirculating aquaculture system.--The term
``land-based recirculating aquaculture system'' means any
system, including aquaponics, that is--
(A) located on land;
(B) recirculates more than 85 percent of the water
used within the system;
(C) involved in the propagation and rearing of
aquatic species; and
(D) not located or operated in open waters,
including rivers, harbors, lakes, the exclusive
economic zone, or within nearshore waters under State
or territorial jurisdiction.
(7) Offshore aquaculture.--The term ``offshore
aquaculture''--
(A) means all activities, including the placement
or operation of an offshore aquaculture facility,
involved in the propagation and rearing, or attempted
propagation and rearing, of marine species in the
exclusive economic zone, including ocean ranching; and
(B) does not include--
(i) salmon hatcheries in the Pacific
Northwest or Alaska;
(ii) the cultivation of mollusks, except
cephalopods, or live rock in the exclusive
economic zone;
(iii) exempted or experimental fishing
activities conducted under an exempted fish
permit issued pursuant to section 600.745 of
title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (or
successor regulations); or
(iv) the harvest of native ornamental fish
from existing oil or gas infrastructure.
(8) Offshore aquaculture facility.--The term ``offshore
aquaculture facility'' means--
(A) an installation or structure used, in whole or
in part, for offshore aquaculture; or
(B) an area of the seabed or the subsoil used for
offshore aquaculture of living organisms belonging to
sedentary species.
(9) Secretary.--Except as otherwise provided, the term
``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Commerce.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE.
(a) Prohibition on Offshore Aquaculture.--Notwithstanding the
provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), no head of an executive agency and no
Regional Fishery Management Council established under section 302 of
the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C.
1852) may develop or approve any rule, regulation, fishery management
plan, or fishery management plan amendment to permit or regulate
offshore aquaculture until the date that is 3 years after the date of
the submission of the reports required by sections 5 and 6.
(b) Application to Existing Permits.--Any permit issued by the head
of an executive agency prior to the date of the enactment of this Act
to conduct offshore aquaculture, including the siting or operation of
offshore aquaculture facilities, under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or any other
Federal law shall cease to be valid on the date of the enactment of
this Act.
SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR LAND-BASED AQUACULTURE.
The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each provide
grants for research related to land-based recirculating aquaculture
systems.
SEC. 5. REPORT ON OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE.
(a) Requirement for Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a
report on offshore aquaculture.
(b) Content.--The report required by subsection (a) shall include
the following:
(1) The results of a comprehensive study on the potential
environmental impacts to native fish species resulting from the
use of each technology currently used in any offshore
aquaculture operation around the world.
(2) The results of a study on the economic impacts of
offshore aquaculture on land-based recirculating aquaculture,
other aquaculture operations, and on recreational and
commercial fishing, including economic impacts--
(A) to fishing operations and coastal communities
throughout the United States; and
(B) specific to fishing operations and coastal
communities in the Gulf of Mexico.
(3) The recommendations of the Secretary for regulatory
guidelines to protect ocean ecosystems from the impacts of
offshore aquaculture, including guidelines related to--
(A) preventing--
(i) pollution from concentrated fish feces
and uneaten food;
(ii) parasites, diseases, and their effects
on native wildlife species;
(iii) escape of marine species from
offshore aquaculture facilities;
(iv) degradation of wild stocks of marine
species;
(v) negative impacts on commercial and
recreational fishing;
(vi) inefficient reliance on wild forage
fish to feed marine species in offshore
aquaculture facilities;
(vii) the inappropriate use of chemicals to
treat parasites and disease in offshore
aquaculture; and
(viii) negative health impacts from
consumption of marine species produced in
offshore aquaculture; and
(B) allocation of reconstruction costs in the event
an offshore aquaculture facility is abandoned or
destroyed.
SEC. 6. REPORT ON LAND-BASED RECIRCULATING AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS.
Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture,
shall submit to Congress a report on the economic potential of land-
based recirculating aquaculture systems, including--
(1) an analysis of the land and other resources required
for such systems;
(2) a description of such systems that are in existence on
the date of the enactment of this Act and an analysis of the of
the economic impact of such systems; and
(3) an analysis of the potential beneficial uses of
residual products from algal technologies as feed in fish
aquaculture.
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