Exploring Options To Authorize Offshore Aquaculture: Initial Workshop Summary Report June 2020

The “Exploring Options to Authorize Offshore Aquaculture” workshop was scheduled for May 12-13, 2020 in Washington, D.C. The objectives of the workshop were: 1. Establish a common understanding of the options to grant property rights for aquaculture in federal waters. 2. Identify the needs of government and industry relative to the mechanisms to grant property rights. 3. Evaluate the options to grant property rights. 4. Draft recommendations for criteria to be included in legislation. These plans were significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than cancel or indefinitely postpone the workshop, the NSGLC decided to host portions of the workshop virtually. The original 1.5-day workshop agenda was broken into three separate engagements: (1) a virtual pre-workshop briefing held on May 5, 2020 (Objective 1); (2) a virtual workshop held on May 12-13, 2020 (Objectives 2 and 3); and (3) an in-person follow-up meeting tentatively planned for February 2021 (Objective 4). This Initial Workshop Summary Report encompasses only the first two engagements listed above. A final workshop summary report, which may include consensus policy recommendations for property rights criteria to be included in future legislation, will be produced following the final workshop engagement in 2021.