USDA: A Series of Workshops on Farming Seaweeds and Seagrasses In Waters of the United States9/19/2023 The United States Department of Agriculture and the Center for Seafood Solutions at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences are pleased to invite you to a series of virtual, half-day stakeholder engagement workshops focused on a report being prepared for Congress on the prospects of seaweed and seagrass farming in waters of the United States.
Overseen by the Interagency Working Group for Farming Seaweeds and Seagrasses, the report will review the current understanding of research for farming seaweeds and seagrasses to (1) deacidify ocean environments, (2) become feedstocks in the agriculture sector, or (3) be used to develop novel products in our Blue Economy. The Working Group also supports a range of demonstration projects which seek to expand upon current knowledge of these three topics.
An agenda for each event and draft copy of the report will be circulated in the weeks ahead. Purpose of the workshop series: Each workshop will provide a forum for participants to engage on the following topics:
For more information contact The Center for Seafood Solutions at the Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences at seafoodsolutions@bigelow.org.
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Registration and Website: 2023 OSU Sustainable Food Manufacturing Forum | College of Agricultural Sciences (oregonstate.edu)
OSU's Sustainable Food Manufacturing Forum will be held Wednesday, October 4, 2023, in Corvallis, OR at the OSU CH2M Hill Alumni Center. This gathering is intended to create an inclusive space that activates Oregon’s food and beverage community around shared goals AND creates a sustainable coalition that continues progressing those goals long term. The focus will be expanding the conversation about why a vigorous, sustainable, and equitable food and beverage industry in Oregon matters and how identifying common ground where we work together can activate the future we envision. Who should be there - OSU is looking for thought leaders who span Oregon’s F&B community who are already working to create meaningful change and want to meet others to spark ideas, catalyze new collaborations and deepen network relationships. Included are established and emerging manufacturers, food hubs and networks, business leaders, non-profits, advocates for sustainability and underserved communities, education, government and business and economic development. Please share with others who will contribute to and benefit from the conversation. How it’ll work – The forum will focus on moderated breakout sessions where you get to shape the agenda, the outcomes and the conversation using an ‘unconference’ format. Bring your ideas for the topics you want to engage in with your peers. If you have questions reach out to Sheri Cole at sheri.cole@oregonstate.edu. Courtesy of NAA: As a first in NAA’s new webinar series, the legal team from the Northwest Aquaculture Alliance and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe will provide an overview of the ongoing net-pen aquaculture litigation in Washington state. Join us for an industry-only discussion of what’s at stake, and what it could mean for the entire aquaculture industry! When October 2, 2023 8-9am PST Where Zoom Overview
In November 2022, the Washington state Commissioner of Public Lands, Hilary Franz, stunned the aquaculture world by declaring that Washington’s public aquatic lands “will not longer be home to commercial finfish aquaculture.” In response, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, a sovereign Indian tribe with plans to engage in net pen aquaculture, filed suit in Thurston County (WA) Superior Court against the Washington State Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Hilary Franz, alleging that the Commissioner’s Order dated November 17, 2022, was “a step beyond legislative intent.” Five months later, the Northwest Aquaculture Alliance filed a Motion to Intervene, which (despite significant pushback from DNR) the Court granted. Recently, the Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) announced that they seek to intervene on behalf of DNR and Hilary Franz—a move that will assuredly pit peer-reviewed aquaculture science against anti-aquaculture science fiction. In the first of NAA’s new online webinars, the legal team for NWAA and the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe will discuss the key issues in the litigation, including a potential precedent-setting outcome. We hope you will join us for an industry-only discussion of what’s at stake, and what it could mean for the entire aquaculture industry. Courtesy of NAA:
Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) recently introduced bipartisan legislation to improve access to federal agriculture disaster programs. This bill will directly benefit U.S. aquaculture producers. The Fair Access to Agriculture Disaster Programs Act (S. 2704/ H.R. 4127) would waive the adjusted gross income limitation for farms that derive 75% of their income from farming, ranching, or related farming practices for the following disaster programs:
Contact your Senators and ask for their Support! Report Published by The Nature Conservancy and Bain & Company Identifies Path Forward to Drive Growth and Decarbonize Supply Chains
With the need for climate solutions more urgent than ever, seaweed aquaculture has emerged as a potential mechanism to both sequester carbon as well as provide lower-impact substitutes for carbon-intensive products. Though carbon crediting likely doesn’t offer farmers adequate economic incentives to support growth of this industry and scale its climate benefits at this time, new markets for seaweed like biostimulants and bioplastics hold significant promise, according to a new report published by The Nature Conservancy and Bain & Company... Read more Courtesy of NAA:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army (the agencies) announced a final rule amending the 2023 definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) to conform with the recent Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA. The agencies are committed to following the law and implementing the Clean Water Act to deliver the essential protections that safeguard the nation’s waters from pollution and degradation. This action provides the clarity that is needed to advance these goals, while moving forward with infrastructure projects, economic opportunities, and agricultural activities. >While EPA’s and Army’s 2023 rule defining “waters of the United States” was not directly before the Supreme Court, the decision in Sackett made clear that certain aspects of the 2023 rule are invalid. The amendments issued today are limited and change only parts of the 2023 rule that are invalid under the Sackett v. EPA decision. For example, today’s final rule removes the significant nexus test from consideration when identifying tributaries and other waters as federally protected. View Final Conforming Rule Fact Sheet The Supreme Court’s Decision in Sackett v. EPA, issued on May 25, 2023, created uncertainty for Clean Water Act implementation. The agencies are issuing this amendment to the 2023 rule expeditiously—three months after the Supreme Court decision—to provide clarity and a path forward consistent with the ruling. With this action, the Army Corps of Engineers will resume issuing all jurisdictional determinations. Because the sole purpose of this rule is to amend specific provisions of the 2023 Rule that are invalid under Sackett, the rule will take effect immediately. The agencies will work with state, Tribal and local partners to safeguard waters in need of protection following the Sackett v. EPA decision and will continue to use all available tools to protect public health and provide clarity for stakeholders. The agencies will host a public webinar on September 12, 2023 to provide updates on the definition of “waters of the United States.” For registration information, please visit EPA’s webpage for the amendments rule. The agencies also plan to host listening sessions this fall with co-regulators and stakeholders, focusing on identifying issues that may arise outside this limited rule to conform the definition of “waters of the United States” with the Sackett v. EPA decision. Learn more about this action on EPA’s “waters of the United States” website. Background On January 18, 2023, the agencies published a final rule revising the definition of “waters of the United States”, which became effective on March 20, 2023. On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a decision in the case of Sackett v. EPA. The Clean Water Act prohibits the discharge of pollutants from a point source into “navigable waters” unless otherwise authorized under the Act. “Navigable waters” are defined in the Act as “the waters of the United States, including the territorial seas.” Thus, “waters of the United States” is a threshold term establishing the geographic scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. The term “waters of the United States” is not defined by the Act but has been defined by the agencies in regulations since the 1970s and jointly implemented in the agencies’ respective programmatic activities. A new report on the most exciting emerging market opportunities in the seaweed sector – which has been compiled for the World Bank by Hatch Innovation Services – has recently been published.
With research led by Karlotta Rieve, who was also the main author of the Seaweed Insights website, and the Hatch Innovation Services team, the Global Seaweed New and Emerging Markets Report 2023 analyses those areas – outside of the traditional seaweed markets such as hydrocolloids – where seaweed producers are likely to have the greatest opportunities in the years ahead. “Hatch is all about helping impactful businesses scale in the aquaculture space and we can only do this if we understand the sector well ourselves. We want to support seaweed startups through our accelerator, and innovation studio programmes and we can point them to this report to help refine their business cases. We also want to support investors and the information in this report allows them to verify the market opportunities,” Rieve explains... Read more The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is recommending sending $106 million to 16 salmon and steelhead recovery efforts in five Western states, the federal agency said Thursday.
NOAA and the Department of Commerce recommended grants to state agencies with salmon protection missions, tribes and tribal partnerships in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and California. The funding “provides an important opportunity to bolster salmon and steelhead recovery and invest in the communities that rely on them,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement. NOAA is an agency within the Commerce Department. The recommendations must be approved by the NOAA Grants Management Division and Department of Commerce Financial Assistance Law Division before they are considered final... Read more Courtesy of NAA: NAA asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Veterinary Services, Aquaculture Program if the agency could locate and post domestic movement requirements for all states in a single public facing location with supporting documentation. This issue is particularly challenging for the aquaculture farming community because state authorities for aquatic animal health vary across the country as do health requirements and inspection processes for the permitting and legal movement of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks. To achieve this goal, the agency contacted state agencies to develop an interactive map. For each responsive state, users can click on a state and receive the state agency(ies) responsible for aquaculture and state import health requirements for the interstate movement of live aquatic animals.
If users find that any particular state’s information has changed, please share your update with Dr. Kathleen Hartman (Kathleen.H.Hartman@usda.gov), USDA APHIS, Veterinary Services, Senior Staff Veterinarian – Aquaculture Health. Aquaculture is Key to Meeting Demand for Sustainable Seafood in California and Across U.S.8/20/2023 Our nation faces many climate-related challenges, but one of the most pressing is how to feed a growing population sustainably. As land resources grow scarce, it’s clear that we must look to alternative methods for food production. Aquaculture, the farming of fish and other aquatic species, is one of the solutions that can help address this challenge while supporting our communities here in California.
From an increase in locally grown seafood in our grocery stores and restaurants, to the creation of new jobs and economic opportunities across our state, the expansion of aquaculture will provide many benefits for our communities here in California and nationwide. Aquaculture also helps ensure American food security as we seek to feed a growing population sustainably... Read more |