Farming in the Commons, Fishing in the Congress, and US Aquaculture in the 21st Century

196 Pages·2015·2.61 MB·English

University of Miami
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2015-08-03
Farming in the Commons, Fishing in the Congress,
and U.S. Aquaculture in the 21st Century
Aaron W. Welch
University of Miami, [email protected]
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UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

FARMING IN THE COMMONS, FISHING IN THE CONGRESS AND
U.S. AQUACULTURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

By

Aaron Welch

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to the Faculty
of the University of Miami
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy

Coral Gables, Florida

August 2015
© 2015
Aaron Welch
All Rights Reserved
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy

FARMING IN THE COMMONS, FISHING IN THE CONGRESS AND
U.S. AQUACULTURE IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Aaron
 Welch

Approved:

________________ _________________
Daniel Benetti, Ph.D. Kenneth Broad, Ph.D.
Professor of Aquaculture Professor of Environmental
Science and Policy

________________ _________________
Gary Hitchcock, Ph.D. Felix Mormann, J.S.D.
Associate Professor of Marine Biology Associate Professor of Law

________________ _________________
Jennifer Jacquet, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School
Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
New York University
WELCH, AARON (Ph.D., Environmental Science and Policy)
Farming in the Commons, Fishing (August 2015)
in the Congress and U.S. Aquaculture
in the 21st Century

Abstract of a dissertation at the University of Miami

Dissertation supervised by Professors Dan Benetti and Kenneth Broad
No. of pages in text (185)

Fisheries and aquaculture policy in the United States exhibits a peculiar duality.
Commercial fishing is functionally open-access, heavily subsidized, and regulated by a
federal bureaucracy staffed in part by fishing industry representatives. Marine
aquaculture, in contrast, is effectively forbidden. Today there are no functioning fish
farms anywhere in the federal waters of the United States, largely due to a regulatory
environment that discourages applications for aquaculture permits. This bifurcated policy
does not seem to be dependent on any specific environmental or economic rationale.
Instead, this policy appears to be the product of a series of individual assumptions and
policy choices that may have been initially reasonable, but have since accreted into an
unworkable whole. This dissertation consists of a series of unique, but thematically
connected research projects designed to examine current U.S. policy on aquaculture and
fishing in the United States, and the assumptions that inform that policy, with the goal of
informing a more consistent treatment for these two modes of seafood production.
Chapter 1 introduces the dissertation by reframing the discussion of aquaculture and
fishing, by examining the global importance of aquaculture as a productive system, and
by discussing the blurring line between fishing and aquaculture. This chapter also
provides a roadmap for the rest of the dissertation. Chapter 2 examines the federal
fisheries management system in light of historical reality and public choice theory.
Chapter 3 describes the nutrient footprint of an offshore aquaculture facility. Chapter 4
uses disclosures from the federal lobbying disclosure system to examine the patterns of
advocacy around aquaculture and fishing in the U.S. Congress and administrative
agencies. Chapter 5 concludes the dissertation with a few thoughts on the value of
interdisciplinarity in pursuing further research into aquaculture and fisheries policy in the
United States.
DEDICATION

To Theresa especially, but also to Maggie, Lizzie, and Aaron. And to my parents. And to
everyone else who has had the patience to wait for this to be finished. Thank you.

  iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

A number of individuals and institutions provided invaluable financial support for the
work that is presented in this dissertation including NOAA Sea Grant, the NOAA Marine
Fisheries Initiative, Cuna del Mar, and the Frank and Mimi Slaughter Philanthropic
Foundation.

  iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Chapter

List of Figures............................................................................................... ......... vi
List of Tables................................................................................................. ........ vii

1 AN INTRODUCTION: WHY STUDY AQUACULTURE? ........................ 1
1.1 The Disconnect .......................................................................................... 2
1.2 Farmers Ascendant ..................................................................................... 4
1.3 Harvesting and Producing: The Integration of Aquaculture and Fishing .. 7
1.4 Beyond the Cage Rim: A Few Points About Aquaculture’s Impact
Beyond Farm and Fishing Boat ................................................................. 10
1.5 Downstream of Fishing: A Few Points on the Lack of Aquaculture
Scholarship ................................................................................................. 14
1.6 Conclusion: Aquaculture is Interested in You ........................................... 16

2 THE SECOND COMMONS: RETHINKING FISHERIES REFORM FOR
THE POLITICAL MARKET .......................................................................... 19
2.1 Background ................................................................................................ 20
2.2 Regulatory Capture, or Something Just Like It ......................................... 24
2.3 The Tragedy of the Commons: Physical and Political ............................... 28
2.4 The Western Range Revisited Revisited .................................................... 35
2.5 Lessons for Fisheries Management ............................................................ 43
2.6 Strategies for The Marketplace .................................................................. 51
2.7 Conclusion: How Sex is Like Fishing ....................................................... 61

3 THE NUTRIENT FOOTPRINT OF OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE .......... 65
3.1 Motivation for Study .................................................................................. 66
3.2 Materials and Methods ............................................................................... 69
3.3 Results ........................................................................................................ 82
3.4 Discussion .................................................................................................. 96

4 FISHING FOR FARMS: LOBBYING ON FEDERAL AQUACULTURE ...
POLICY IN THE UNITED STATES: 2005-2011 .......................................... 102
4.1 The Question Presented ............................................................................. 103
4.2 Lobbying .................................................................................................... 112
4.3 The Offshore Aquaculture Act ................................................................... 115
4.4 Method ....................................................................................................... 118
4.5 Results ........................................................................................................ 122
4.6 Discussion .................................................................................................. 127
4.7 Conclusion: The Efficient Market Possibility ............................................ 137

5 THE VIRTUE OF NECESSITY: A FEW UNIFYING THOUGHTS ............ 141

WORKS CITED…....................................................................................................... 149

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LIST OF FIGURES

1. Farm location and farmed species ......................................................................... 71
2. Sea Station 6,400 m3 submersible cage ................................................................ 71
3. Water column sampling scheme ........................................................................... 75
4. Sediment sampling scheme ................................................................................... 77
5. Vertical profile of D.O. concentrations up- and downstream of cage site
(2012) ............................................................................................................. 83
6. Vertical profile of D.O. concentrations up- and downstream of cage site
(2013) ............................................................................................................. 84
7. Vertical profile of Chl-a concentrations up- and downstream of cage site
(2012) ............................................................................................................. 85
8. Vertical profile of Chl-a concentrations up- and downstream of cage site
(2013) ............................................................................................................. 86
9. Horizontal Profile of NO -+NO - concentrations at 5, 15, 30, and 60m
2 3
(2012 and 2013) ..................................................................................................... 87-88
10. Horizontal profile of NH +concentrations at all sample depths by sampling run
4
(2013) ............................................................................................................. 88
11. Horizontal profile of TDN concentrations at 5, 15, 30 and 60m
(2012 and 2013) ..................................................................................................... 88-89
12. Horizontal profile of PON concentrations at all sample depths by sampling run
(2013) .............................................................................................................. 90
13. Horizontal profile of POC concentrations at all sample depths by sampling run
2013 .............................................................................................................. 90
14. Horizontal profile of chl-a concentrations at 5, 15, 30 and 60m
(2012 and 2013) ..................................................................................................... 91
15. Sediment POC by zone .......................................................................................... 93
16. Sediment PON by zone .......................................................................................... 94
17. Sediment POC by subzone ..................................................................................... 95
18. Sediment PON by subzone .................................................................................... 95
19. Sediment Chl-a by subzone ................................................................................... 96
20. Mean lobbying intensity, pro and anti aquaculture groups .................................... 125
21. Lobbying intensity by pro and anti aquaculture organizations by reconciled
period: 2005 - 2011. ............................................................................................... 126
22. Intensity adjusted outlays (Pro and Anti) by reconciled period: 2005-2011 ........ 127
23. Total number of fisheries and aquaculture (Pro & Anti) lobbyists by reconciled
periods : 2005-2011. ............................................................................................... 130

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