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WHEREAS, the
dwindling availability of natural marine animals for food is a consequence
of modern harvesting technologies, pollution and disease, and dietary
shifts toward non-meat protein foods has placed added focus and
value on marine-harvested products; and
WHEREAS, the
proximity to markets, the demand for healthful food products, available
natural resources, adequate financing and educational resources
provided by Rutgers, the State University, have been essential ingredients
for the growth of agriculture in New Jersey; and
WHEREAS, these
are equally important for the growth of aquaculture, which is the
planting, nurturing, and harvesting of aquatic organisms; and
WHEREAS, the
State of New Jersey has been committed, through programs such as
"Jersey Fresh" and the FARMS Commission, to strengthening, expanding
and diversifying agricultural activities in the state, and support
for aquacultural development is integral to this mission; and
WHEREAS, the
rapid and orderly expansion of aquaculture is constrained by a number
of factors, including: lack of domestic broodstock; poor understanding
of nutrition and diets of culturable species; need for improvement
in fish health management; poor knowledge of water quality criteria
in culture systems; a need for education, information, and technology
transfer efforts, and; a need to understand markets and marketing
barriers for aquaculture and other barriers faced by the aquaculture
industry. These include the need to balance the interests and requirements
of recreation, commercial, and aquacultural industries, legal and
regulatory constraints, and difficulty in locating venture capital
for the expansion of aquaculture; and
WHEREAS, the
Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology Extension Center, sponsored
by the Governor's New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology
and housed at Rutgers, has access to expertise in aquaculture and
fisheries, and its mission is to foster the orderly development
of these industries;
NOW, THEREFORE,
I, JAMES J. FLORIO, Governor of the State of New Jersey, by virtue
of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and by the statutes
of this State, do hereby ORDER and DIRECT:
1. There
is hereby established an Aquaculture Development Task Force to
be organized by the Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology Extension
Center, which shall provide or assemble the technical expertise
necessary to draft the State Aquaculture Development Plan. The
Task Force membership shall include the Secretary of Agriculture
and the Commissioners of the Departments of Environmental Protection
and Energy, Commerce and Economic Development, and Health, or
their designees. The Task Force shall be co-chaired by the Secretary
of Agriculture and a person with expertise in the commercial fisheries
and aquaculture business, to be selected by the members of the
Task Force. The Task Force shall be housed at the Fisheries and
Aquaculture Technology Extension Center.
2. The Task
Force shall design the State Aquaculture Development Plan to provide
for and encourage the development and subsequent expansion of
an economically viable aquaculture industry while ensuring the
integrity and protection of the natural/wild stocks and their
habitat. The Fisheries and Aquaculture Technology Extension Center
shall support the Task Force in developing the design of the State
Aquaculture Development Plan.
3. The State
Aquaculture Development Plan shall be designed to: stimulate private
investment in the development and expansion of commercial aquaculture;
evaluate job opportunities for individuals displaced from the
fishing and shellfishing industries in the areas of research and
development, and in new skilled jobs for technically trained aquaculturists;
ensure coordination among State agencies to promote the goals
of this Executive Order; enhance business diversity opportunities
for New Jersey farmers and commercial fisherman, other interested
entrepreneurs, and the fish and shellfish processing, marketing,
and distribution industries; and develop mechanisms to ensure
for the citizens of New Jersey and the Mid-Atlantic region a consistent
supply of quality aquacultured products, such as a diversity of
finfish, e.g. hybrid striped bass, and specialty varieties of
bivalve shellfish products.
4. The State
Aquaculture Development Plan should address the issues of water
withdrawal, wastewater discharge, optimal habitat conditions for
aquacultured products (both fresh and marine), product standards,
natural resource protection, marketing, research and demonstration,
farm pond utilization, coastal development, economic development,
and extension/education. The Plan should also identify those activities
already practiced commercially within the State and those aquaculture
activities that have a good probability for development in the
near future.
5. The New
Jersey Aquaculture Development Task Force shall utilize the expertise
of industry, academia and governmental agencies, and resources
available from the New Jersey-Israel Aquaculture Exchange Program,
to design the State Aquaculture Development Plan.
6. The Departments
of Agriculture, Environmental Protection and Energy, Commerce
and Economic Development, and Health shall provide the Task Force
with staff assistance in designing the State Aquaculture Development
Plan.
7. The New
Jersey Aquaculture Development Task Force shall issue a final
report, including the State Aquaculture Development Plan and recommended
legislation or regulation, to the Governor and the Governor's
Commission on Science and Technology within one year of the date
of this Order.
8. This
Order shall take effect immediately.
GIVEN
under my hand and seal this
5th day of October in the Year of the
Lord, one thousand nine hundred and
ninety-three, and of the Independence
of the United States, the two hundred
and eighteenth.
/s/
James Florio
Governor
Attest:
/s/ Scott
A. Weiner
Chief Counsel to the Governor
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