Sec. 403. Domestic seafood production
1,141 words·~5 min read·
/bill/118/s/2354/is/section-403A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In this section: The term mariculture means shellfish and aquatic plants grown under controlled conditions. The term rural community means a coastal community located in a rural area (as defined in section 343(a) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act ( 7 U.S.C. 1991(a) ). The term seafood means wild-caught finfish and shellfish. Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall develop an action plan to facilitate increased domestic processing of United States-caught seafood and mariculture. The action plan developed under paragraph
(1)shall include— an identification of coastal communities in which— commercial fishing is a significant economic driver; and there exists a need, and voiced community desire, for the creation of new (or rehabilitation of existing) seafood processing infrastructure to allow those communities— to effectively process the catch of the communities locally; and to provide for the local and domestic market; an identification of coastal communities with existing or developing mariculture operations in which processing infrastructure is not sufficient to meet the needs of the mariculture operations; a consideration of the diversity of coastal communities, including geographic diversity; an assessment of the number of coastal communities described in subparagraphs
(A)through
(C)that qualify as rural communities; and an analysis of the current domestic seafood supply chain, including a carbon footprint. The action plan developed under paragraph
(1)shall include a selection of 5 coastal communities across the United States that would be eligible for the grants and cooperative agreements under subsection (c). In developing the action plan under paragraph (1), the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall provide a meaningful stakeholder engagement process that— prioritizes outreach and engagement through methods that effectively reach residents of rural communities described in subparagraphs
(A)through
(C)of paragraph (2); and provides an opportunity for public comment regarding a draft of the action plan, and incorporation of any comments received by the date that is 60 days after the end of the public comment period. Using funds made available under subsection (f), the Secretary shall, for the period of fiscal years 2024 and 2025, make competitive grants or enter into cooperative agreements— to support pilot projects for new seafood or mariculture processing infrastructure in eligible communities selected under subsection (b)(3); to support pilot projects for the rehabilitation, repair, or retrofitting of existing seafood or mariculture processing infrastructure in those eligible communities; to host onsite local training, education, outreach, and technical assistance initiatives for working waterfront populations in those communities; or to provide preference for community members from those eligible communities in the startup of pilot seafood or mariculture processing facilities exclusively designed for serving domestic and local markets, which shall include— entrepreneurship and business training; financial and risk management training; and food safety and recordkeeping. To be eligible to receive a grant or enter into a cooperative agreement under paragraph (1), the recipient of the grant or participant in the cooperative agreement shall be— a collaborative State, Tribal, local, or regionally based network or partnership of public or private entities; or an individual seafood or mariculture processing company. In making grants or entering into cooperative agreements under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall give priority to— projects that commit— to sell a substantial quantity of seafood domestically, as determined by the Secretary; to meaningful local-hire practices, as determined by the Secretary; to avoiding additional overburdening of rural communities, such as by minimizing additional vehicular traffic; and to supporting innovative transportation networks to minimize adverse impacts on adjacent communities; projects that— colocate with, or supply, community fish markets or community-based seafood distributors, such as local farmers’ markets; would retrofit or update existing infrastructure; and are zoned for mixed use, such as a processing plant with an adjacent community fish market; or include partnerships with schools or organizations that address food security and hunger; and community-based businesses and organizations with expertise in working with rural communities and coastal communities. In making grants or entering into cooperative agreements under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall evaluate, with respect to applications for the grants or cooperative agreements— relevancy; technical merit; achievability, expertise, and track record; and equity and environmental justice impacts. A grant or cooperative agreement under paragraph
(1)shall be for an amount and term determined appropriate by the Secretary. Any Federal agency may participate in any grant or cooperative agreement under paragraph
(1)by contributing funds, if the contributing agency determines that the objectives of the grant or cooperative agreement will advance the authorized programs of the contributing agency. A recipient of a grant or a party to a cooperative agreement under paragraph
(1)may not use more than 10 percent of the funds received for the indirect costs of carrying out the grant or cooperative agreement. Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Commerce, shall submit to Congress a report evaluating the effectiveness of the action plan developed under subsection
(b)and the grants and cooperative agreements made or entered into under subsection (c), including— an assessment of social and economic benefits resulting from projects carried out using those grants and cooperative agreements; and recommendations— to improve the effectiveness of the action plan and the grants and cooperative agreements; and to expand projects carried out using the grants and cooperative agreements to additional coastal communities. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no Federal agency shall permit, authorize, or otherwise regulate commercial finfish aquaculture operations in the Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States (as established by Proclamation Numbered 5030, dated March 10, 1983), except in accordance with a law authorizing such an action that is enacted after the date of enactment of this Act. No Federal funds available to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shall be used to award grants to facilitate or otherwise regulate finfish aquaculture in Federal waters. There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 and 2025. Of the amounts made available under paragraph (1)— $200,000 shall be used to carry out subsection
(b)during fiscal year 2024, to be divided equally between the Secretary and the Secretary of Commerce; $200,000 shall be used to carry out subsection
(d)during fiscal year 2025; and the remaining amounts shall be used, subject to paragraphs
(3)and (4)— to carry out subsection (c); or for expenses relating to the administration of this section. A majority of the amount made available to carry out subsection
(c)for any fiscal year shall be used to support coastal communities that are rural communities. Not more than 5 percent of the amounts made available to carry out this section for a fiscal year may be used for expenses relating to the administration of this section.
Connectionstraces to 1
Traces to 1 document
U.S. Code
Citation graph
cites case law
Sec. 403
Domestic seafood production
Cites 1Cited by 0 across 0 sources