The productivity of U.S. seafood resources must be expanded to meet increasing domestic demand and to offset the growing seafood trade deficit. The greatest opportunity to realize this needed production is to use the open ocean where conflicts with other users are minimized, water quality is high and the impacts of operations to the environment can be mitigated. In response to this necessity, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute has worked over the past two decades with several investment groups, most recently Pacific6 based in Long Beach, California, to obtain permits to grow local species for the expanding U.S. market. The proposed farm, Pacific Ocean AquaFarms, represents an important and timely review of the opportunities for and limitations to the advancement of marine aquaculture in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone.
Specific permits are required from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) under the Rivers and Harbors Act and from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Clean Water Act, and farming operations have to be conducted under existing authorities for the production of food and protection of the environment. Since the project will require permits and approvals from several federal agencies, it is subject to environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) through consultation with all agencies responsible for management of natural resources.
The U.S. already has the laws and regulations it needs to govern the permitting and operation of marine farms located in the EEZ. But, with multiple agencies reviewing permits, one agency needs to serve as the lead for the NEPA review. While permitting authority is one factor for consideration in lead agency determination, as provided in the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations, it is neither the only nor the most important factor. In a precedent setting manner, NOAA Fisheries has agreed to serve as the lead agency for the NEPA review for the the POA Project, and has codified this role through a Memorandum of Understanding with the federal permitting agencies. This is consistent with the May 7, 2020 Presidential Executive Order (13921) as well as with the reintroduced Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act.
If the U.S. is to reap the Blue Economy benefits of marine farming to sustain coastal communities and minimize impacts to global warming, then we cannot forego the opportunity for using small tracts of the open ocean to grow a significant portion of our Nation’s animal protein needs. As a center for global innovation, the U.S. should not limit finfish farming to RAS farms, but rather encourage marine aquaculture for finfish, shellfish and seaweed using effectively demonstrated technologies for both the nearshore and offshore environments.