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Letter courtesy of and submitted by the National Aquaculture Association:

The Honorable Sanford Bishop, Jr., Chair
The Honorable Jeff Fortenberry, Ranking Member
House Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development,
Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

The Honorable Tammy Baldwin, Chair
The Honorable John Hoeven, Ranking Member
Senate Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development,
Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies

Dear Representatives Bishop, Jr., and Fortenberry and Senators Baldwin and Hoeven:

We, the undersigned, are writing you on behalf of the 3,000 aquaculture farms in the United States with a combined farm-gate income of $1.5 billion.  These farms produce a variety of fish and shellfish for many uses, including domestic and international seafood markets, aquariums and water gardening enthusiasts, recreational fishing, and control of nuisance aquatic plants. One of our goals is to greatly reduce the current trade deficit in this arena, where 80 to 90 percent of the seafood for consumption in the United States is imported from foreign sources. We believe that US-produced, healthy fish and shellfish are key to achieving this target.

We request an immediate increase to the base budget for the USDA APHIS Veterinary Services, Aquaculture Program, of $3.7 million above their current funding level of $2.3 million, for a total budget of $6.0 million. Over the following four years the program anticipates a ramp up in funding to $9.2 million, $12.6 million, $14.2 million and $16 million annually to fully fund a business plan and national aquatic animal health plan implementation. The National Aquaculture Association worked closely with the agency to develop this plan, and fully supports the plan and its goals. We have requested a nationwide rollout of a national plan,Comprehensive Aquaculture Health Plan & Standards, that has incorporated farmer comments and includes a farmer working group to inform Plan implementation and revision every two years.

In recent years, related to global trade, we have experienced increasing incidents of foreign animal pathogens impacting our farm-raised fish and shellfish. Examples include infectious salmon anemia, spring viremia of carp, tilapia lake virus, and ostreid herpesvirus. At the same time, we have experienced increased difficulty exporting our own products due to the limits of our national programs in aquatic animal health.

To protect and support aquaculture’s significant role in the domestic food chain there must be national standards that are transparent and consistent by which farmed aquatic animal health is determined and verified for various end uses. This increased funding for the USDA APHIS Veterinary Services, Aquaculture Program will allow U.S. aquaculture to expand securely and safely with protections from foreign animal diseases and inequitable trade practices as well as provide increased market access and marketability both domestically and internationally. To be effective, the Plan requires an immediate increase in staff and travel support to educate and inform farms so that the farms can develop a farm-level health management, biosecurity, and disease response.

If you or your staff require additional information, please contact the organizations and individuals that have requested your action to increase the APHIS Veterinary Services base budget. Thank you.

Respectfully,

Please reach out to your House member and Senators to support this request. Calls to local offices are as effective as calling DC. A House of Representative member directory is found here. For Senators click here.