Bill to usher in a new wave of American aquaculture
Bipartisan Bill to promote aquaculture in America has
been Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives
By SeaWestNews
A new bipartisan bill to promote
aquaculture in the United States has been Introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives
to make America more competitive in the seafood industry.
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson, a Democrat from Minnesota and Congressman Steven Palazzo, a Republican from Mississippi introduced the bipartisan Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act this week.
A similar version of the bill was
introduced in the Senate in 2018 by Republican Senator Roger Wicker.
The latest version of the Bill calls for
the establishment of “aquaculture enterprise zones,” that could be
identified for priority permitting and development and uses specific language
to address sustainability of marine feed ingredients and other sustainability
standards for the supply chain.
Advocacy group, Stronger America Through
Seafood or SATS applauded Peterson and Palazzo for working across party lines
to bring awareness and encourage debate in Congress on the topic of expanding
American aquaculture.
“A predictable regulatory framework and
National Standards for aquaculture production are critical to the
competitiveness of the American seafood industry, which currently faces a
seafood trade deficit of $14 billion, said Bill DiMento, president of SATS and
vice president of Corporate Sustainability and Government Affairs at High Liner
Foods.
“Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food
sector in the world, but the U.S. ranks only 16th in the production of
farm-raised seafood. Half of the fish eaten in the United States comes from
farms – but not from American farms. We can do better.
With global demand for seafood projected to
increase by 70% in the next 30 years – domestic aquaculture, combined with our
wild fish harvesting – could one day meet the entire U.S. demand for seafood.
Federal legislation is an important first step,” DiMento added.
The AQUAA Act would establish National
Standards for sustainable offshore aquaculture and clarify a regulatory pathway
for offshore aquaculture in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ) which will
support growth of the domestic offshore aquaculture industry.
The regulated expansion of domestic
aquaculture would stimulate economic growth in coastal and agricultural
communities across the U.S., create thousands of jobs, and provide a steady
supply of healthy and affordable seafood, while protecting our wild-capture
fisheries and natural resources, SATS said.
“Aquaculture
is a fast-growing agriculture industry that is creating jobs and improving our
country’s food security,” said Chairman Peterson.
“It also creates a market for soybeans as
they provide nutritious aquafeed. Our bill will streamline the permitting
process and build upon research and development efforts that are underway.”
Rep. Palazzo said: “The United States
imports nearly 90 percent of our seafood, and of that, more than half is
produced through foreign aquaculture. The AQUAA Act streamlines the federal
permitting process to usher in a wave of American aquaculture and reduce our
dependency on foreign seafood imports while we grow a sustainable market. Food
security is national security and we must work to ensure America is prepared to
meet the needs of tomorrow’s food demand.”
Canada is currently working on it proposed
Aquaculture Act. The bill is expected to be drafted by “mid- to late 2020” and
receive royal assent as early as 2022.