Proposed Rule to Open Offshore Aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced an open comment period for a proposed rule that creates a comprehensive framework for authorizing and regulating offshore aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico in Federal waters. While there are many aquaculture operations in state waters, prior to this rule there was no permitting process to accommodate commercial aquaculture operations in Federal waters. The proposed rule will open up Federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico to up to 20 commercial aquaculture operations during a ten year permitting period. The rule also includes recordkeeping, reporting, and operational requirements for all permitted operations.

Globally, aquaculture supplies approximately half of the world’s seafood while U.S. aquaculture meets only 5-7% of the U.S. demand for seafood. Additionally, 91% of the seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. These statistics highlight that U.S. aquaculture lags far behind global production trends and that U.S. fishery productions need to increase to meet the growing seafood demands of the country. The objectives of the proposed rule are to increase the productivity of Gulf fisheries to help meet growing consumer demand for seafood, to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign seafood imports, and to sustain coastal communities and economies.

This proposed rule comes from many years of hard work from several players, including the NOPP implementing body, the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships (IWG-OP). Under the National Ocean Policy the IWG-OP took on coordination and support milestones related to improving regulations, efficiencies, and partnerships within Administration to forward a healthier, resilient, and more productive ocean. One of these milestones was to “Develop and implement permitting regulatory efficiencies for aquaculture,” the proposed rule was developed as part of actions to meet this milestone.

To learn more about the proposed rule, go here. The public comment period on the rule is open until October 27, 2014; to comment, go here.