48 DECEMBER 2022 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG the basis of reliable scientific evidence, is expected to ensure that specific individual organisms comprising an aquaculture crop will enjoy increased growth attributable to the discharge of pollutants, and be harvested within a defined geographic area. This is important because other ‘farms’ managed under the Department of Agriculture in 7VIC are exempt from TPDES permits (12 VIRR 184-22). The DPNR-DEP anticipated a time when aquaculture was more predominant in the territory, and acted explicitly to have the power to regulate pollutants from aquaculture if the time and need arose. This also ensures that the VIC is federally consistent with the federal Clean Water Act (40 CFR part 125, subpart B). Act No. 6471 created a Commission on Aquaculture and Mariculture in 2001 ‘to study and develop a comprehensive plan for aquaculture in the U.S. Virgin Islands’ under the Department of Agriculture. The Virgin Islands Commision on Aquaculture and Mariculture must be comprised of five members, three of whom are appointed by the legislature: • Commissioner of Agriculture (non-voting member, ex officio) • Director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife (chair) • Director of the Aquaculture Program of the VI Agriculture Extension Service at UVI • One marine biologist, appointed • One licensed fishermen from any of the Virgin Islands, appointed • One local developer experienced in aquaculture appointed The current administration, under Governor Albert Bryan, has recomprised the aquaculture commission, recently appointing new members to develop and promulgate rules and regulations for aquculture operations, research and production in the territory; clarify permitting and approval processes for the developing and siting of aquaculture facilities, through recommendations to DPNR during development of a water-use plan for the territory; and identify strategies to improve economic incentives and opportunities for development of aquaculture and mariculture within the territory. The Commission will aim to solve a problem stated by Ruff et al. (2019) that, ‘in the United States, the division of authority across multiple agencies seems to have hindered nationwide growth in the mariculture industry’ (Lester et al. 2018, Engle and Stone 2013, Ruff et al. 2019). Aquaculture is permitted in the territory informally. Projects are permitted through CZM permitting and review if located in Tier 1 and through DPNR building permits if located in Tier 2. Any projects requiring construction or alterations to the shoreline or submerged lands, or placement of permanent or temporary structures on submerged lands requires a nationwide permit from the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and approval by CZM via a review process that includes an Environmental Assessment (EA) in consultation with DFW, in addition to a Tier 1 CZM permit. A TPDES permit has been required for all projects. A farmer’s license from the Department of Agriculture and a business license from the Department of Licensing and Consumer Affairs are required. One operation has obtained a commercial fishing license issued from DPNR as the individual interpreted the VIC such that to sell fish, you must be a fisher. To streamline aquaculture and mariculture in the USVI, it is recommended that the following terms be defined or redefined: ‘Aquaculture’, ‘Aquaculture Producers’, Aquaculture Products’, Commercial aquaculture producers’, Commercial aquaculture facility, ‘Disease condition’, ‘Estuary’, ‘Fish’, ‘To fish’, ‘seller’, ‘scientific and educational purposes’, submerged and filled lands’, ‘trust lands’, ‘to take <as regards animals in 12 VIC>’, and ‘water column.’ Sections of the proposed rules should state the duties of the departments and jurisdiction of the territory so that submerged lands, territorial waters, federal waters and protected areas within those may be defined. Licensing, recordkeeping, inspections, transportation and import and export should be clearly laid out. Penalties for unlawfully acquiring stock, illegally producing aquaculture products including unauthorized species and not obtaining a permit for the use of wild stock would go far in creating a framework for enforcement. Establishing these types of rules allows enforcement, but it also protects producers by formally clarifying processes that can then be followed and even used to fight court fines if penalties are improperly imposed by the governing body. Establishment of an aquaculture council comprised of industry and regulatory persons can act to evaluate the established VIRR, promote aquaculture, review permits disputes as an independent board and provide input on evidencebased advances in aquaculture and mariculture to regulators. Aquaculture Infrastructure UVI has been internationally recognized for the development of novel aquaponics technology in the late 1970s, with efforts led by Dr. Jim Rakocy and the AES team (Fig. 4). The aquaculture focus was on tilapia production integrated with vegetable production in a floating raft hydroponic system (Rakocy 1989, Rakocy and Hargreaves 1993, Rakocy 1997, Rakocy et al. 1997, Rakocy et al. 2004a, Rakocy et al. 2007, Thorarinsdottir 2015). Research in culturing tilapia using biofloc technology was also addressed at UVI (Cole et al. 1997, Rakocy et al. 2000, Rakocy et al. 2004b). Hence, infrastructure related to aquaculture in the USVI has mostly focused on tilapia production, with two facilities linked to the University: the Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) in St. Croix and a biofloc production facility in the Golden Grove Prison, also on St. Croix. However the earliest use of aquaculture in the USVI was a mariculture facility operated by Columbia University and the University of Texas in Estate Rust-op-Twist, St. Croix. This facility FIGURE 4. Aquaponics facility at the University of the Virgin Islands on St. Croix.
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