91 S1861 IS: Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act U.S. Senate 2023-06-07 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

II118th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 1861IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESJune 7, 2023Mr. Wicker (for himself and Mr. Schatz) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and TransportationA BILLTo establish a regulatory system for sustainable offshore aquaculture in the United States exclusive economic zone, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title; table of contents

(a)

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act or the AQUAA Act.(b)

Table of contents

The table of contents for this Act is as follows:Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.Sec. 2. Purposes.Sec. 3. Definitions.TITLE I—National standardsSec. 101. National standards for sustainable aquaculture.Sec. 102. National plan to identify and designate aquaculture opportunity areas.Sec. 103. Aquaculture outside of an aquaculture opportunity area.TITLE II—Core activitiesSec. 201. Aquaculture management plans.Sec. 202. Offshore aquaculture permits.Sec. 203. Research and development grant program.Sec. 204. Economic soundness.TITLE III—RefinementsSec. 301. Recordkeeping, inspections, and access to information.Sec. 302. Marine feed standards.Sec. 303. Marine use rights.TITLE IV—Administrative provisionsSec. 401. Office of Aquaculture.Sec. 402. Support for industry.Sec. 403. Outreach and education.Sec. 404. Administration.Sec. 405. Report and permit terms.Sec. 406. Federal coordination.Sec. 407. Prohibited acts.Sec. 408. Enforcement.Sec. 409. Authorization of appropriations.

2.

Purposes

The purposes of this Act are—(1)to support the development of a sustainable marine aquaculture industry in the United States and enhance access to investment capital;(2)to develop sustainable marine aquaculture to complement sustainable fisheries and ecosystem-based management;(3)to clarify the Federal regulatory regime for sustainable offshore aquaculture and safeguard the marine environment, wild fish stocks, and our coastal communities;(4)to support research and technology development to further these goals;(5)to create new jobs, and support existing jobs within the seafood industry of the United States, including jobs for traditional fishing industry participants; and(6)to reduce the United States seafood trade deficit by expanding the domestic supply of seafood through the production of sustainable offshore aquaculture.

3.

Definitions

In this Act:(1)

Aquaculture

The term aquaculture—(A)means any activity involved in the propagation, rearing, or attempted propagation or rearing, of cultured species, including the capture and rearing of broodstock; (B)does not include the practice of capturing juvenile finfish to rear to maturity in an aquaculture facility for subsequent commercial sale; and(C)does not include the practice of rearing and releasing cultured species for the purpose of enhancing wild populations. (2)

Aquaculture stakeholder

The term aquaculture stakeholder means owners and operators of offshore aquaculture facilities, Regional Fishery Management Councils, interstate fisheries commissions, conservation organizations, fisheries associations, State, county, and federally recognized Indian Tribes, and other interested parties. The term also includes other Federal agencies that have interests in aquaculture. (3)

Coastal State

Except as otherwise specifically provided, the term coastal State has the meaning given the term coastal state in section 304(4) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(4)).(4)

Cultured species

The term cultured species means any species propagated and reared for marine aquaculture. The term includes larval marine shellfish species that self-recruit in the offshore environment. The term excludes any member of the class aves, reptilia, or mammalia. (5)

Exclusive economic zone

(A)

In general

Unless otherwise specified by the President in the public interest in a writing published in the Federal Register, the term exclusive economic zone means 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 country is less than 400 nautical miles, a line equidistant between the United States and the other country).(B)

Inner boundary

Without affecting any Presidential proclamation with regard to the establishment of the United States territorial sea or exclusive economic zone, the inner boundary of the exclusive economic zone is—(i)in the case of the coastal States, a line coterminous with the seaward boundary of each such State, as described in section 4 of the Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1312);(ii)in the case of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a line 9 nautical miles from the coastline of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;(iii)in the case of American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, or Guam, a line 3 geographic miles from the coastlines of American Samoa, the United States Virgin Islands, or Guam, respectively;(iv)in the case of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands—(I)the coastline of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, until 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; or(v)for any possession of the United States not under clause (ii), (iii), or (iv), the coastline of such possession.(C)

Construction

Nothing in this definition may be construed to diminish the authority of the Department of Defense, the Department of the Interior, or any other Federal department or agency.(6)

Healthy target stock

The term healthy target stock means a component of a fishery managed in a similar or equivalent way to fisheries managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) or by a United States interstate marine fisheries commission, or a component of a fishery targeted for harvest that is not overfished or experiencing overfishing. (7)

Lessee

The term lessee means any party to a lease, right-of-use and easement, or right-of-way, or an approved assignment thereof, issued pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.).(8)

Multi-trophic aquaculture

The term multi-trophic aquaculture means an assemblage of cultured species grown in close enough proximity to one another so that cultured species provide ecosystem services to one another. (9)

Offshore aquaculture

The term offshore aquaculture means aquaculture conducted in the exclusive economic zone.(10)

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, water column, or the sediment used for offshore aquaculture.(11)

Secretary

Except as otherwise specifically provided, the term Secretary means the Secretary of Commerce, acting through the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.(12)

Sustainably managed fishery for aquaculture feed

The term sustainably managed fishery for aquaculture feed means a fishery that is used for feed and that is managed in such a manner to maintain healthy target stocks, to protect marine ecosystem structure, productivity, function, and diversity, and to minimize impacts to nontarget stocks.