[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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