• Government should emphasize stakeholder participation and input into the
permit/license/lease process to identify and help applicants resolve conflicts
early in the process. For example, government could facilitate stakeholder
information meetings (e.g., informal and required public hearings) and use the
Internet to promote widespread information availability for stakeholders.
• Government should consider the advantages and disadvantages of placing limits
on the size and the volume of production for an open ocean site. While limits
may seem appropriate initially to manage perceived risk, there should be process
in the regulations to, in the future, increase or decrease or remove such limits,
once site carrying capacity is demonstrated.
• Whatever the site disposition vehicle, permit, license, or lease, the governing
legislation should clearly provide that the recipient has exclusive ownership of
the stock and use of the area for farming, has clearly defined property rights and
protections, and is not at a disadvantage in securing project financing and
insurance.
• The regulatory system should provide permit, license, and lease terms (i.e.,
length of time) that are long enough for the aquaculture project to build out to an
operational full scale and reach profitability. The suggested initial time period
for an open ocean project is 15–20 years, with optional renewal time periods for
projects in good standing of 15 years. Timeframes of this length will give the
project a stable tenure and greatest opportunity to be successful, profitable and
pay off any long-term loans.
• The regulatory system should identify allowable species for culture and incorporate economically important native species, and those introduced species that
are established in the environment. Introduction of non-native species for
aquaculture purposes should only be considered after extensive study of environmental risks and a public process to solicit input from stakeholders.
• Fees for permits or licenses and rents for leases should be set as a balance
between cost recovery for administration of the regulatory process and a reasonable charge for the use of the public resource, so that establishing a farm is
attractive to private investment. Governments could consider putting these
revenues in a specially designated fund that supports further open ocean
aquaculture research and development, e.g., Hawaii, U.S.A.
• Government should consider creating a separate regulatory process for open
ocean aquaculture research and large-scale demonstration projects considering
the emerging status of the industry. The information requirements and review
process for these R, D, and D projects in the EEZ should be easier, quicker, and
less complex than for a commercial project because these projects are smaller in
scale, temporary, and short term.
• Government should require baseline environmental studies as part of the
application process that are realistic, based on science, and can be carried out in
a timely fashion at a reasonable cost. The likely inherent stability of the open
ocean environment at any site should be considered in designing baseline
studies and the potential positive impacts of the aquaculture project should also
9 Regulation and Permitting of Standalone …
225
permit/license/lease process to identify and help applicants resolve conflicts
early in the process. For example, government could facilitate stakeholder
information meetings (e.g., informal and required public hearings) and use the
Internet to promote widespread information availability for stakeholders.
• Government should consider the advantages and disadvantages of placing limits
on the size and the volume of production for an open ocean site. While limits
may seem appropriate initially to manage perceived risk, there should be process
in the regulations to, in the future, increase or decrease or remove such limits,
once site carrying capacity is demonstrated.
• Whatever the site disposition vehicle, permit, license, or lease, the governing
legislation should clearly provide that the recipient has exclusive ownership of
the stock and use of the area for farming, has clearly defined property rights and
protections, and is not at a disadvantage in securing project financing and
insurance.
• The regulatory system should provide permit, license, and lease terms (i.e.,
length of time) that are long enough for the aquaculture project to build out to an
operational full scale and reach profitability. The suggested initial time period
for an open ocean project is 15–20 years, with optional renewal time periods for
projects in good standing of 15 years. Timeframes of this length will give the
project a stable tenure and greatest opportunity to be successful, profitable and
pay off any long-term loans.
• The regulatory system should identify allowable species for culture and incorporate economically important native species, and those introduced species that
are established in the environment. Introduction of non-native species for
aquaculture purposes should only be considered after extensive study of environmental risks and a public process to solicit input from stakeholders.
• Fees for permits or licenses and rents for leases should be set as a balance
between cost recovery for administration of the regulatory process and a reasonable charge for the use of the public resource, so that establishing a farm is
attractive to private investment. Governments could consider putting these
revenues in a specially designated fund that supports further open ocean
aquaculture research and development, e.g., Hawaii, U.S.A.
• Government should consider creating a separate regulatory process for open
ocean aquaculture research and large-scale demonstration projects considering
the emerging status of the industry. The information requirements and review
process for these R, D, and D projects in the EEZ should be easier, quicker, and
less complex than for a commercial project because these projects are smaller in
scale, temporary, and short term.
• Government should require baseline environmental studies as part of the
application process that are realistic, based on science, and can be carried out in
a timely fashion at a reasonable cost. The likely inherent stability of the open
ocean environment at any site should be considered in designing baseline
studies and the potential positive impacts of the aquaculture project should also
9 Regulation and Permitting of Standalone …
225