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.