ABSTRACT
The Commission found that most of the present US aquaculture production was in fresh water. The report differentiated between fresh and marine aquaculture, noted that knowledge on many species was incomplete, and that promotion of marine aquaculture in the coastal zone was difficult owing to regulatory constraints and use conflicts. Specific federal legislation had a large effect on coastal aquaculture. The laws regarding endangered marine animals, while affording needed protection, encouraged the expansion of their populations in areas where aquaculturists were just getting established. A plan would give aquaculture what agriculture had gotten in the Department of Agriculture: a lead agency, centralization of authority, and program support—a champion of aquacultural science and industry. The plan reiterated that primary responsibility for the development of commercial aquaculture in the United States remained with the private sector, whose role was to apply available aquaculture science and technology to the problems of operating commercially viable aquaculture ventures.
