AQUAA Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4723 To establish a regulatory system for sustainable offshore aquaculture in the United States exclusive economic zone, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 24, 2020 Mr. WICKER (for himself, Mr. SCHATZ, and Mr. RUBIO) introduced the fol- lowing bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Com- merce, Science, and Transportation A BILL To establish a regulatory system for sustainable offshore aquaculture in the United States exclusive economic zone, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American 5 Aquaculture Act’’ or the ‘‘AQUAA Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Purposes. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4723 IS Sec. 3. Definitions. TITLE I—NATIONAL STANDARDS Sec. 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 ACTIVITIES Sec. 201. Aquaculture management plans. Sec. 202. Offshore aquaculture permits. Sec. 203. Research and development grant program. Sec. 204. Economic soundness. TITLE III—REFINEMENTS Sec. 301. Recordkeeping, inspections, and access to information. Sec. 302. Marine feed standards. Sec. 303. Marine use rights. TITLE IV—ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS Sec. 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. SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 1 The purposes of this Act are— 2 (1) to support the development of a sustainable 3 marine aquaculture industry in the United States 4 and enhance access to investment capital; 5 (2) to develop sustainable marine aquaculture 6 to complement sustainable fisheries and ecosystem- 7 based management; 8 (3) to clarify the Federal regulatory regime for 9 sustainable offshore aquaculture and safeguard the 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4723 IS marine environment, wild fish stocks, and our coast- 1 al communities; 2 (4) to support research and technology develop- 3 ment to further these goals; 4 (5) to create new jobs, and support existing 5 jobs within the seafood industry of the United 6 States, including jobs for traditional fishing industry 7 participants; and 8 (6) to reduce the United States seafood trade 9 deficit by expanding the domestic supply of seafood 10 through the production of sustainable offshore aqua- 11 culture. 12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 13 In this Act: 14 (1) AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘‘aqua- 15 culture’’— 16 (A) means any activity involved in the 17 propagation, rearing, or attempted propagation 18 or rearing, of cultured species, including the 19 capture and rearing of broodstock; 20 (B) does not include the practice of cap- 21 turing juvenile finfish to rear to maturity in an 22 aquaculture facility for subsequent commercial 23 sale; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4723 IS (C) does not include the practice of rearing 1 and releasing cultured species for the purpose 2 of enhancing wild populations. 3 (2) AQUACULTURE STAKEHOLDER.—The term 4 ‘‘aquaculture stakeholder’’ means owners and opera- 5 tors of offshore aquaculture facilities, Regional Fish- 6 ery Management Councils, interstate fisheries com- 7 missions, conservation organizations, fisheries asso- 8 ciations, State, county, and federally recognized In- 9 dian Tribes, and other interested parties. The term 10 also includes other Federal agencies that have inter- 11 ests in aquaculture. 12 (3) COASTAL STATE.—Except as otherwise spe- 13 cifically provided, the term ‘‘coastal State’’ has the 14 meaning given the term ‘‘coastal state’’ in section 15 304(4) of the Coastal Zone Management Act of 16 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1453(4)). 17 (4) CULTURED SPECIES.—The term ‘‘cultured 18 species’’ means any species propagated and reared 19 for marine aquaculture. The term includes larval 20 marine shellfish species that self-recruit in the off- 21 shore environment. The term excludes any member 22 of the class aves, reptilia, or mammalia. 23 (5) EXCLUSIVE ECONOMIC ZONE.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4723 IS (A) IN GENERAL.—Unless otherwise speci- 1 fied by the President in the public interest in 2 a writing published in the Federal Register, the 3 term ‘‘exclusive economic zone’’ means a zone, 4 the outer boundary of which is 200 nautical 5 miles from the baseline from which the breadth 6 of the territorial sea is measured (except as es- 7 tablished by a maritime boundary treaty in 8 force or being provisionally applied by the 9 United States or, in the absence of such a trea- 10 ty, where the distance between the United 11 States and another country is less than 400 12 nautical miles, a line equidistant between the 13 United States and the other country). 14 (B) INNER BOUNDARY.—Without affecting 15 any Presidential proclamation with regard to 16 the establishment of the United States terri- 17 torial sea or exclusive economic zone, the inner 18 boundary of the exclusive economic zone is— 19 (i) in the case of the coastal States, a 20 line coterminous with the seaward bound- 21 ary of each such State, as described in sec- 22 tion 4 of the Submerged Lands Act (43 23 U.S.C. 1312); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4723 IS (ii) in the case of the Commonwealth 1 of Puerto Rico, a line 9 nautical miles 2 from the coastline of the Commonwealth of 3 Puerto Rico; 4 (iii) in the case of American Samoa, 5 the United States Virgin Islands, or Guam, 6 a line 3 geographic miles from the coast- 7 lines of American Samoa, the United 8 States Virgin Islands, or Guam, respec- 9 tively; 10 (iv) in the case of the Commonwealth 11 of the Northern Mariana Islands— 12 (I) the coastline of the Common- 13 wealth of the Northern Mariana Is- 14 lands, until the Commonwealth of the 15 Northern Mariana Islands is granted 16 authority by the United States to reg- 17 ulate all fishing to a line seaward of 18 its coastline; and 19 (II) upon the United States 20 grant of such authority, the line es- 21 tablished by such grant of authority; 22 or 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4723 IS (v) for any possession of the United 1 States not under clause (ii), (iii), or (iv), 2 the coastline of such possession. 3 (C) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this defi- 4 nition may be construed to diminish the author- 5 ity of the Department of Defense, the Depart- 6 ment of the Interior, or any other Federal de- 7 partment or agency. 8 (6) HEALTHY TARGET STOCK.—The term 9 ‘‘healthy target stock’’ means a component of a fish- 10 ery managed in a similar or equivalent way to fish- 11 eries managed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 12 Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 13 et seq.) or by a United States interstate marine fish- 14 eries commission, or a component of a fishery tar- 15 geted for harvest that is not overfished or experi- 16 encing overfishing. 17 (7) LESSEE.—The term ‘‘lessee’’ means any 18 party to a lease, right-of-use and easement, or right- 19 of-way, or an approved assignment thereof, issued 20 pursuant to the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 21 (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 22 (8) MULTI-TROPHIC AQUACULTURE.—The term 23 ‘‘multi-trophic aquaculture’’ means an assemblage of 24 cultured species grown in close enough proximity to 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4723 IS one another so that cultured species provide eco- 1 system services to one another. 2 (9) OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE.—The term ‘‘off- 3 shore aquaculture’’ means aquaculture conducted in 4 the exclusive economic zone. 5 (10) OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE FACILITY.—The 6 term ‘‘offshore aquaculture facility’’ means— 7 (A) an installation or structure used, in 8 whole or in part, for offshore aquaculture; or 9 (B) an area of the seabed, water column, 10 or the sediment used for offshore aquaculture. 11 (11) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise specifi- 12 cally provided, the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec- 13 retary of Commerce, acting through the Under Sec- 14 retary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. 15 (12) SUSTAINABLY MANAGED FISHERY FOR 16 AQUACULTURE FEED.—The term ‘‘sustainably man- 17 aged fishery for aquaculture feed’’ means a fishery 18 that is used for feed and that is managed in such 19 a manner to maintain healthy target stocks, to pro- 20 tect marine ecosystem structure, productivity, func- 21 tion, and diversity, and to minimize impacts to non- 22 target stocks. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4723 IS TITLE I—NATIONAL STANDARDS 1 SEC. 101. NATIONAL STANDARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE AQUA- 2 CULTURE. 3 (a) RELATION TO CURRENT LAW.—Nothing in this 4 Act shall be construed in derogation of applicable law, and 5 offshore aquaculture operations shall comply with all ap- 6 plicable statutes, rules, and regulations. In order to ensure 7 that implementing regulations for applicable statutes ap- 8 propriately account for the unique considerations arising 9 from offshore aquaculture, the Secretary shall comply with 10 the following: 11 (1) With respect to regulations administered by 12 the Department of Commerce or National Oceanic 13 and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary shall 14 review such regulations in accordance with this sub- 15 section and update any regulations as appropriate or 16 necessary. 17 (2) With respect to Federal regulations not ad- 18 ministered by the Department of Commerce or Na- 19 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 20 Secretary shall confer with appropriate officials to 21 review such regulations in accordance with this sub- 22 section. After such review, the Agency that admin- 23 isters the regulations may, as appropriate or nec- 24 essary, update such regulations. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4723 IS (b) NATIONAL STANDARDS.—Any designation and 1 establishment of an aquaculture opportunity area, any 2 aquaculture management plan prepared, any regulation 3 promulgated, and any permit granted, pursuant to this 4 Act, shall— 5 (1) encourage development of United States off- 6 shore aquaculture while remaining consistent with 7 environmental requirements established by law; 8 (2) be based on the best scientific information 9 available, taking into account traditional knowledge; 10 (3) be adaptive to offshore aquaculture develop- 11 ment, accounting for updates in technology and 12 changes in environmental conditions; 13 (4) prefer species that are native or historically 14 naturalized to the region; and 15 (5) prioritize the health of cultured species. 16 (c) GUIDELINES.—The Secretary shall establish advi- 17 sory guidelines (which shall not have the force and effect 18 of law), based on the national standards, to assist in the 19 development of aquaculture management plans, and regu- 20 lations promulgated and permits granted pursuant to this 21 title. 22 (d) PERIODIC REVIEW.—The Secretary shall periodi- 23 cally review the advisory guidelines established under sub- 24 section (c), as needed, but not less often than once every 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4723 IS 5 years, to determine whether changed circumstances, ad- 1 vances in science, or improved management practices war- 2 rant an amendment or update to the guidelines. 3 SEC. 102. NATIONAL PLAN TO IDENTIFY AND DESIGNATE 4 AQUACULTURE OPPORTUNITY AREAS. 5 (a) RELATION TO CURRENT LAW.—Nothing in this 6 section shall be construed in derogation of applicable law 7 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act regulating 8 or restricting the use of the exclusive economic zone, and 9 the Secretary shall comply with all such applicable law 10 when proposing, designating, and operating an aqua- 11 culture opportunity area under this section. In order to 12 ensure that implementing regulations for applicable stat- 13 utes appropriately account for the unique considerations 14 arising from offshore aquaculture, the Secretary shall 15 comply with the following: 16 (1) With respect to regulations administered by 17 the Department of Commerce or National Oceanic 18 and Atmospheric Administration, the Secretary shall 19 review such regulations in accordance with this sub- 20 section and update any regulations as appropriate or 21 necessary. 22 (2) With respect to Federal regulations not ad- 23 ministered by the Department of Commerce or Na- 24 tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:11 Oct 19, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4723.IS S4723 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4723 IS Secretary shall confer with appropriate officials to 1 review such regulations in accordance with this sub- 2 section. After such review, the Agency that admin- 3 isters the regulations may, as appropriate or nec- 4 essary, update such regulations. 5 (b) NATIONAL PLAN.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 7 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec- 8 retary shall, consistent with this section, develop a 9 plan and timeline to systematically— 10 (A) assess the exclusive economic zone; 11 (B) prepare an inventory of sites suitable 12 for aquaculture opportunity areas; and 13 (C) designate aqu [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]