Social Constraints and Solutions to Progressive Development of the Nation’s Offshore Aquaculture Industry - Final Technical Report - Prepared for The U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research and The National Sea Grant College Program California Sea Grant By Impact Assessment, Inc. 2166 Avenida de la Playa, Suite F La Jolla, California 92037 January 2015 Authorship: Madge, L., J. Petterson, R. Scalf, and L. Stanley Cover Photo: Hawaiian Kampachi (credit: Bryce Groark; provided by: Blue Ocean Mariculture) Table of Contents i. Glossary of Species ............................................................................................................. iii ii. Glossary of Terms ............................................................................................................... iv iii. Glossary of Acronyms ......................................................................................................... v 1.0 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 1.1 Understanding the Research Problem ............................................................................ 2 1.2 Overarching Research Goal and Underlying Rationale ................................................. 4 1.3 Pertinent Research Questions and Associated Research Methods ................................. 5 1.4 Organization of the Document ....................................................................................... 8 2.0 Marine Aquaculture Production in the Nation ............................................................. 10 2.1 Definitions .................................................................................................................... 10 2.2 Select Aquaculture Statistics ........................................................................................ 10 3.0 Regional and Local Approaches to the Development of Offshore Aquaculture ........ 19 3.1 The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Plan for Offshore Aquaculture. ................ 19 3.2 California and Massachusetts: Permitting Process and Requirements for Offshore Shellfish Farms ....................................................................................................................... 24 3.3 Comparing Regulatory Approaches ............................................................................. 26 4.0 California .......................................................................................................................... 28 4.1 Characterization of Southern California Bight for Development of Offshore Aquaculture ............................................................................................................................. 28 4.2 Overview of Proposed and Permitted Offshore Operations ......................................... 30 5.0 Hawaii ............................................................................................................................... 34 5.1 Characterization of Hawaii for Development of Offshore Aquaculture ...................... 34 5.2 Overview of Proposed and Permitted Offshore Operations ......................................... 36 6.0 Gulf of Maine.................................................................................................................... 39 6.1 Characterization of Gulf of Maine for the Development of Offshore Aquaculture ..... 39 6.2 Overview of Proposed and Permitted Offshore Operations ......................................... 44 7.0 Non-government Organizations and the Development of Marine Aquaculture ........ 49 7.1 Environmental concerns and preferred marine aquaculture technologies and species 49 7.2 NGO strategies and effect on influencing the development of offshore aquaculture .. 51 7.3 Current NGO efforts to further the development of environmentally sustainable offshore aquaculture................................................................................................................ 56 8.0 The Siting of Aquaculture Operations and Coastal Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP) ........................................................................................................................................... 60 8.1 Siting Criteria ............................................................................................................... 60 8.2 Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning ........................................................................... 64 8.3 Debate regarding marine spatial planning .................................................................... 69 9.0 Challenges and Solutions for the Development of Offshore Aquaculture .................. 72 9.1 Policy and regulatory challenges and solutions ........................................................... 72 9.2 Economic constraints and recommendations ............................................................... 78 9.3 Socio-cultural Perspectives. ......................................................................................... 81 9.4 Environmental concerns, technological solutions, and management measures. .......... 84 10.0 References ......................................................................................................................... 86 11.0 Appendix A: Identification of Select Factors Important to the Development of Offshore Aquaculture ................................................................................................... 105 i Tables Table 1-1: Annual U.S. Commercial Landings, Edible Imports, and Per capita Consumption of Seafood: 2003-2012………………………………………………………………...2 Table 1-2: Interview Respondents by Category ………………………………………………..7 Table 2-1: Federal Agencies involved in Permitting, Regulating, and Supporting Offshore Aquaculture .……………………………………………………………………….14 Table 2-3: Timeline of Select Dates in the Development of Open Ocean Aquaculture in State and Federal Jurisdiction Waters …………………………………………………...17 Table 8-1: Select Siting Criteria for Offshore Aquaculture Operations ………………………60 Figures Figure 1-1: Marine Aquaculture Production in relation to size of EEZ…………………………3 Figure 2-1: State Participation in Marine Aquaculture (2013)…………………………………11 Figure 2-2: Aquaculture by Production Method (2013)………………………………………..12 Map Map 1-1: United States Exclusive Economic Zone and Case Study Areas……………………6 Map 4-1: Southern California Bight: Permitted and Proposed Offshore Operations and Major Ports ……………………………………………………………………………….33 Map 5-1: Hawaiian Archipelago: Harbors and Open Ocean Operations ……………………37 Map 6-1: Gulf of Maine Open Ocean Operations in State and Federal Waters …………….47 Map 8-1: Select factors conditioning open ocean aquaculture in Southern California Bight..62 Map 8-2: Marine Mapper Suitability Analysis……………………………………………….68 Photo Photo Illustration 2-1: Cupod Offshore Aquaculture System……………………………………13 ii i. Glossary of Species Common Name (local name) Scientific Name Almaco jack (kahala) Seriola rivoliana American oyster Crassotrea virginica Atlantic Cod Gadus morhua Atlantic Halibut Hippoglossus hippoglossus Atlantic salmon Salmo salar Bigeye tuna (‘ahi) Thunnus obesus Blue mussels Mytilus edulis Bluefin tuna Thunnus thynnus orientalis California halibut Paralichthys californicus California yellowtail Seriola lalandi Cobia Rachycentron canadum Dolphinfish (mahi mahi) Coryphaena hippurus Giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera Giant rock scallop Hinnites multirugosus Green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis Mediterranean mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis Pacific threadfin Polydactylus sexfilis Purple-hinge rock scallop Crassadoma gigantea Red abalone Haliotis rufescens Red drum Sciaenops ocellatus Sea scallops Placopecten magellanicus Steelhead trout Oncorhynchus mykiss Striped bass Morone saxatilis Wahoo (‘ono) Acanthocybium solandri White seabass Atractoscion nobilis Yellowfin tuna (‘ahi) Thunnus albacares iii ii. Glossary of Terms Economic Enterprise Zone - the sea or ocean zone over which a nation has exclusive rights of resource extraction. It encompasses waters from the shoreline out 200 nautical miles. Federal consistency review – under the Coastal Zone Management Act, states are granted the rights and responsibilities to review activities that may have effects on coastal resources or uses to determine whether they are consistent with a state’s coastal management program. This act and review process may provide states an opportunity to influence the development of aquaculture in federal waters. Fishery Management Councils - Fishery management councils are quasi-regulatory bodies that develops fishery management and conservation measures for the EEZ. These measures are then implemented by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. There are eight regional fishery management councils. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is the first regional council to develop a comprehensive plan for the management of offshore aquaculture. Integrated multitrophic aquaculture (IMTA) – the farming of finfish species that require feed in combination with shellfish and/or seaweed species that extract inorganic and organic compounds from surrounding waters. IMTA is promoted as a mitigation strategy for environmental impacts of finfish aquaculture. Mariculture - refers to the breeding, raising, and harvesting of marine species in onshore facilities or in the ocean. Open ocean/ offshore aquaculture – the terms are frequently use interchangeably