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Courtesy of NAA:

Support is needed in the House of Representatives for the HR-5061 Shellfish Aquaculture Improvement Act of 2018 to exempt aquaculture workers from unintended consequences of the Merchant Marine Act that inflate insurance costs and expose shellfish farms with employees to unlimited liability.  The bill is attached.

The Merchant Marine Act of 1920 was passed to ensure that the nation had a sufficient merchant marine and shipbuilding to protect U.S. defense and commercial interests. A little-known section of the Merchant Marine Act protects injured seamen on U.S. owned/operated vessels who are not eligible for coverage by either the Longshore and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Act or state workers’ compensation insurance.

Aquaculture was not yet widely practiced when the Act was passed, but if it were being written today there would be no reason to include aquaculture workers in the definition of “seamen” as they currently are. Congress recognized this duplication years ago and excluded shellfish aquaculture workers from the Longshoreman’s and Harbor Workers’ Compensation Acts.

HR-5061 amends the Merchant Marine Act by creating an exclusion so that shellfish aquaculture farmers can cover employees under state workers’ compensation insurance.

Please contact your House representative while they in their District during August to request support or co-sponsorship of HR-5061.

When talking to your Representative or local or DC office mention that:

• Aquaculture employees are not “seamen” in the traditional meaning of the term. While “seamen” working on the high seas, often in international waters, cannot be covered under state workers’ compensation insurance, aquaculture workers on near-shore farms should be insured by state workers’ compensation insurance.
• Shellfish aquaculture is a near-shore, water-dependent, farming operation, normally conducted solely within state waters. These activities have no relevance to the Merchant Marine Act’s original national security and at-sea commerce intent.
• Merchant Marine Act insurance typically costs much more than state workers’ compensation insurance, (often several times more) so shellfish aquaculture farms should save thousands on their insurance bills annually if this measure passes.
• Representatives that indicate that they will co-sponsor or support HR-5061, should contact Max Fenkell at Max.Fenkell@mail.house.gov or (202) 225-3176.

To locate your House representative, visit https://www.house.gov/representatives.

For more information contact: Robert B. Rheault, Ph.D. Executive Director, East Coast Shellfish Growers Association, at bob@ECSGA.org, office (401) 783-3360 or cell (401) 714-3944.