[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 168 (Thursday, November 1, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Page S13702]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. SNOWE:
  S. 2299. A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to establish 
an advisory committee to develop recommendations regarding the national 
aquatic animal health plan developed by the National Aquatic Animal 
Health Task Force, and for other purposes; to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.
  Ms. SNOWE. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
I believe is vital to the prosperity and competitiveness of an element 
of agriculture that is often overlooked: American aquaculture. Some 
experts estimate that to meet the demand for healthy, fresh 
aquacultural products, global production will have to double in the 
next 40 years. Yet in spite of this skyrocketing demand, America is at 
risk of being left behind by other nations who have thus far exhibited 
greater foresight than we have; putting into place a comprehensive 
infrastructure for sustainable seafood. While it is true that American 
aquaculture sales exceeded an impressive one billion dollars in 2005, 
this was a pittance when compared to the $70 billion market worldwide. 
In fact, in 2006 the U.S. had a trade deficit in seafood production of 
$9.1 billion. With demand rising so dramatically globally and, in 
particular, here at home, we cannot afford to fall behind any further.
  That is why I have taken this opportunity to introduce the National 
Aquatic Animal Health Act. This legislation will begin the process of 
creating a national infrastructure that will attract investment, 
protect the valuable stocks of our aquaculture farmers from disease, 
and create a unique, flexible partnership between the Federal 
Government, State agencies, and industry groups. Dedicated to 
proactively monitoring seafood stocks for disease, this program will 
employ the resources and vast field experience of the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service, or APHIS, coupled with experts on disease at 
various State agriculture and marine agencies and industry 
professionals to certify the health of all participating aquaculture 
species.
  Modeled after similar animal monitoring programs already in place at 
APHIS, this program will provide a nationwide set of standards, the 
kind of uniformity that is currently absent in the aquaculture 
community. Instead, a myriad of jurisdictional conflicts and competing 
regulations among various states creates uncertainty and erects 
impediments to interstate commerce. But this bill is not a set of 
onerous regulations imposed upon the private sector by a federal 
agency; under the legislation, states are required to opt-in to the 
program. They must choose to utilize the assets available in this 
legislation to assist in preserving that state's particular aquaculture 
products.
  My home State of Maine has tremendously benefited from aquaculture. 
There are nearly three dozen hatcheries in the State, handling both 
finfish and shellfish. Our 3,500 miles of coastline has served as an 
ideal incubator for the expansion of the aquaculture industry. The 
total economic activity generated from the industry State-wide was over 
$130 million last year, providing jobs for over 1,000 hard-working 
Mainers. This sort of productivity was not always the case. In 2001, 
nearly all the salmon stocks in Maine had to be eliminated due to an 
outbreak of a crippling, infectious disease known as ISA. It took the 
industry years to recover. Now, the Great Lakes face the threat of the 
virulent pathogen known as VHS. It is my hope that with swift passage 
of this legislation, we will no longer have to fear this kind of 
widespread disease and the subsequent containment costs that could 
cause inestimable damage to an industry that is struggling to catch up 
to its global competitors. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation as we move forward on debating Federal farm policy.
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