TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages Symposium 1 - the National Sea ...

The NOAA/DOC Aquaculture Initiative and
Policy and Its Implication for
Recirculation Systems
Jim McVey
National Sea Grant Program
Silver Spring, MD
Background. NOAA's and the Department of Commerce's primary focus for Aquaculture
has been through programs in the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) in the
Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) and The National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS). Many aquaculture businesses dealing with many species have benefitted
from NOAA research and extension activities. The National Marine Fisheries Service,
originally the U.S. Fish and Fisheries Commission released billions of marine fish larvae in the
late 1800's and it's successor, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries , that became NMFS,
contributed more technology and information base for the development of marine aquaculture
or mariculture. The NMFS presently has two research laboratories devoted to aquaculture
research at Manchester Washington and Milford, Connecticut. The NMFS also conducts
research under Saltonstall/Kennedy (SK) grants and provides economic assistance through
the Fisheries Finance Program. The National Sea Grant College Program, created in 1968,
has provided financial support for mariculture research to the academic community since it's
inception. Sea Grant research, education and outreach programs, in 29 coastal and Great
Lakes states, have contributed trained scientists, new technology and industry partnerships
that have provided a very strong information and resource base for the present national
marine aquaculture initiative. Sea Grant considers the Great Lakes and the species in them
as topics related to its mandate. The state programs conduct in-state competitions for
aquaculture related projects and support over 35 extension agents that deal, in some degree,
with aquaculture issues. Sea Grant supports a National Aquaculture Specialist in the
National Office, national competitions on aquaculture topics, a National Depository for the
archiving and distribution of research and extension publications, a significant portion of the
AQUANIC electronic information center for aquaculture, and national and state web pages
that include aquaculture information.
A 1980 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Departments of
Agriculture(USDA) Commerce (DOC) and Interior (DOI), defined aquaculture as Athe
propagation and rearing of aquatic species in controlled or selected environment@. Pursuant
to this MOU, DOC, through NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Sea
Grant College Program, carried out aquaculture research and development on marine,
estuarine, and anadromous species. This emphasis remains until this day. Work on
anadromous species has been coordinated with DOI and USDA. The National Sea Grant
College Program has coordinated its extension component with USDA in most of the coastal
and Great Lakes states. Subsequent to the establishment of this MOU, the Fisheries Finance
Program, administered by NMFS, and the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA),
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