From April 14 through May 6, 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will be holding a series of "Listening Sessions" across the country in an effort to gather stakeholder input on the development of a new National Policy for marine aquaculture. This is an important opportunity to let NOAA hear that the conservation and fishing communities are concerned about the negative environmental and socio-economic impacts that may result from a poorly-regulated and expanded ocean aquaculture industry in the United States.
At present, NOAA has scheduled five public meetings from April 14 through April 29th, 2.5 hours each, and one national call-in conference on May 6. The meetings will be held in:
· Narragansett, RI;
· New Orleans, LA;
· Seattle, WA;
· Honolulu, HI; and
· Menlo Park, CA.
NOAA will also be accepting comments through their website starting April 6. The closing date for this comment period is unknown. You can find the specific dates, times, and locations of the Listening Session meetings, as well as instructions for submitting comments online at http://aquaculture.noaa.gov/news/welcome.html#listening
This is an opportunity to let NOAA know that any national policy that emerges from this process must ensure that:
1. Open-ocean aquaculture proceeds only under a comprehensive, legally-binding national framework to ensure that any industry development does not adversely affect ocean ecosystems and coastal-dependent communities.
2. Precaution is the core operating principle to protect vibrant marine ecosystems above all else;
3. Rigorous environmental standards that are legally enforceable should guide federal rulemaking and industry performance, and;
4. In every respect, the development of marine aquaculture should be subject to a full, meaningful public process. Expansion of marine aquaculture should not proceed unless public resources are adequately protected, the public is fairly compensated for the use of its resources, and facility owners are held liable for damages to the marine environment.
These core principles were the intent of the National Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Act (HR 4363), introduced by Representative Lois Capps (D-CA) late last year. Her legislation, drafted with input from conservation, fishing, and aquaculture industry stakeholders, could serve as a model framework for NOAA to draw upon in the development of this new National Policy.
