Legislators Try to Stop All Offshore Mariculture

On this Independence Day weekend, I thought I might take the time to update my blog, after a long hiatus, with a look at the latest attempts by members of the U.S. Congress to suppress the burgeoning mariculture industry in this country.

In the past two months, two efforts before congress look to destroy any chances of any real offshore aquaculture over the next decade.

First, in May, Senator David Vitter of Louisiana sponsored a bill in the Senate that looks to establish a three-year moratorium on all offshore aquaculture until "research" is completed into the impacts the industry will have on the ocean fisheries and ecosystems.

I write about the bill in the July/August issue of Aquaculture North America.

The Research and Aquaculture Opportunity and Responsibility Act looks to provide relief to struggling marine ecosystems, including those affected by the Deep Water Horizon gulf oil spill, Sen. Vitter said in a statement.

"It's clear that the marine environment, particularly off the coast of Louisiana, can't handle any more stress as it begins its recovery from the ongoing gulf oil spill," he said. "My bill is a common sense reprieve to these vital ecosystems that would allow us to step back and asses the potential effects on native species and recreational and commercial fisheries before moving forward with any further aquaculture programs."

The bill attracted instant reaction from the industry. Ocean Stewards Institute (OSI) president Neil Simms explained that Vitter's bill will only further squash the opportunity for increasing U.S. Seafood supplies, and is another example of how America fails to take responsibility for the amount of seafood it eats. He argued that 80% of U.S. seafood is imported from over seas and that more than half of that is farmed in offshore farms.

But it seems the industrial corporate fishing and environmentalist lobbyists were just getting started.

The second attempt by anti-mariculture forces in congress was brought to my attention by OSI, an aquaculture industry advocacy group. The house is considering major energy legislation, called Consolidated Land Energy and Aquatics Resources (CLEAR).

A provision to the bill is the most blatant attempt to stop offshore aquaculture in federal waters. Sec. 704-- Offshore Aquaculture Clarification, states that the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of theNational Oceans and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), or the Regional Fishery Management Councils shall NOT develop or approve any fishery management plan that permits or regulates offshore aquaculture.

The provision goes on to state that any permits made and approved under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act shall be made invalid once the CLEAR act is passed.

In just two months, the chances of offshore aquaculture in the U.S. taking place over the next 10 to 20 years have become very unlikely should these measures or something like them pass in congress.

As noted above, the clear winner in this, should offshore aquaculture be stymied, is the industrial fishing industry, and of course international aquaculture businesses. But more importantly here in the US, the status quo of un-sustainably hunting the national fisheries is being maintained. If that continues to be the case, prices for seafood will increase (which fishing corporations don’t mind) and more and more Americans will be left out of the proven protein benefits of fish; more fisheries will be squeezed or depleted all together; and fishermen will work less and less hours on the sea as government fisheries management restrictions get tighter and tighter.

Offshore aquaculture in the US, if done sustainably according to NOAA guidelines and regulations, could provide a more affordable and consistent supply of seafood for the country, keeping prices of seafood reasonably affordable for more Americans. As part of a comprehensive oceans plan, aquaculture can supplement the wild stock fishing industry and help keep part-time fishermen in full-time employment on the sea. It also can break our dependency on foreign fish farms that don’t follow rules that maintain sustainable practices for the industry.

If you are an aquaculture professional here in New England, feel free to write your congressmen to support at least the current effort by NOAA, the Obama administration, to develop a national aquaculture policy for the country, which includes offshore mariculture.

Don’t allow the status-quo industrial corporate fishing lobby to decide for us.