Aquaculture America 2020

February 9 - 12, 2020

Honolulu, Hawaii

RECENT PERMITTING AND TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS MADE TOWARD ADVANCING OPEN OCEAN FARMS IN U.S. FEDERAL WATERS

 
Donald B. Kent*
 
Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute
2595 Ingraham Street
San Diego, CA 92109
dkent@hswri.org
 

The necessity for the United States to increase its domestic production of seafood is clearly recognized and  utilizing the nation's Exclusive Economic Zone  for marine farming is one alternative proposed to meet that need.  A lthough the nation has experience with a wide range of marine farming, the majority of the existing industry lies within coastal waters thereby limiting regulatory experience to state resource managers.  The potential for farming the nation's federal waters is seriously limited by the lack of a clearly defined regulatory pathway to acquire the federal and regional permissions needed to propose, permit, install and operate marine farms in federal waters.

The U.S. has rigorous regulatory  processes for permitting  the placement of many  types  of structures in the marine environment.  Oil production planforms, submerged cables, LNG terminals, and sewage outfalls all require federal permits conditioned by a rigorous environmental review process.  The National Environmental Protection Act and its adopted regulations provide for a process by which federal agencies review applications for placement of structures in federal waters and through this process provide conditions that set standards for placement and operation of these structures. The lack of a clearly delineated  federal  agency  to lead  the NEPA review for  any proposed  marine farming permit application has led to a history of application attempts being unsuccessful thereby curbing interest by investors to undertake the permit application process.

Over the past decade, NOAA agencies, oceanographic researchers and regional agencies have developed tools for a more coordinated approach to the permit process that should result in the establishment of marine farms in U.S. coastal and federal waters.  Further, recent technological advances in farming systems have made the potential success of open ocean farms more likely.  This presentation will summarize the regulatory and technological advances that  should lead to advancing open ocean marine farming.