(a) Regulatory constraints study

The Secretaries, through the coordinating group, shall conduct, within twelve months after September 26, 1980, a study of the State and Federal regulatory restrictions to aquaculture development in the United States. The study shall—

(1) include a literature review and a descriptive list identifying the parameters of the issue;

(2) identify and list relevant current and pending Federal regulations restricting the development of commercial aquaculture operations;

(3) identify and list relevant current State regulations restricting the development of commercial aquaculture operations in five States selected randomly in five separate geographic regions of the United States;

(4) conduct case studies of ten commercial aquaculture operations in the United States representing a wide range of marine and fresh water species to determine the practical effects of regulatory restrictions on aquaculture; and

(5) develop a flow-chart time line using the information obtained by means of paragraphs (1) through (4) to identify those regulations and restrictions that could have the most detrimental effect in establishing commercial aquaculture operations in the United States.


Upon completion of the study, the Secretaries shall submit its results to Congress.

(b) Regulatory constraints plan

Terms Used In 16 USC 2808

  • aquaculture: means the propagation and rearing of aquatic species in controlled or selected environments, including, but not limited to, ocean ranching (except private ocean ranching of Pacific salmon for profit in those States where such ranching is prohibited by law). See 16 USC 2802
  • coordinating group: means the interagency aquaculture coordinating group established by section 2805 of this title. See 16 USC 2802
  • Plan: means the National Aquaculture Development Plan required to be established under section 2803 of this title. See 16 USC 2802
  • Secretaries: means the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of the Interior. See 16 USC 2802
  • State: means any of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands of the United States, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or any other territory or possession of the United States. See 16 USC 2802

Based on the results of the Regulatory Constraints Study conducted under subsection (a), and within six months of the study’s completion, the Secretaries shall formulate a plan for acting on the study’s findings. The plan will contain specific steps the Federal Government can take to remove unnecessarily burdensome regulatory barriers to the initiation and operation of commercial aquaculture ventures. Upon its completion, the Secretaries shall submit the plan to Congress.

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