As part of an ongoing collaboration with the Environmental Law Institute and the Ocean Foundation, the Emmett Environmental Law and Policy Clinic issued a new white paper on offshore aquaculture on June 28, 2013. Offshore Aquaculture Regulation Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act reviews the applicability of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to aquaculture and makes several recommendations for ways in which the National Marine Fisheries Service can better apply the MSA to minimize the environmental impacts of offshore aquaculture.
In particular, the paper recommends that NMFS:
- Provide direction on and support development of models for setting annual yield for
aquaculture; - Develop guidance on establishing appropriate management units;
- Use short term aquaculture permits to ensure that novel facilities and technologies perform well in real-world conditions; and
- Minimize the adverse impacts of aquaculture on Essential Fish Habitat.
Students working on this paper included Erica Boyce (JD ’13) and Nikki Baade (JD ’12). For additional information, visit http://eli-ocean.org/fish/