New user-friendly aquaculture permitting
website launched
(Honolulu, HI) – Anyone interested in operating an aquaculture business in Hawai‘i now has a user-friendly, easy-to-use website outlining the federal, state, and county permits and major requirements.
The website, available on the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program Pacific Region Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Hub, outlines the permits and environmental requirements to site, build, and operate a business in the state, and assist companies in understanding the regulatory process.
It is based on the Permits and Regulatory Requirements for Aquaculture in Hawaii report prepared for the Department of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Livestock Support Services Program in 2011. Prior to the release of the new website, funded by the State of Hawai‘i Department of Agriculture, the information was much more difficult to access, adding to the burden of starting a new business. HDOA appreciates the efforts of Hawai‘i Sea Grant to digitize and reformat this important information.
As one of the only U.S. states to make this information widely accessible online, it continues Hawai‘i’s long history of supporting aquaculture development and enhancing food self-sufficiency and sustainability on all the islands.
Today, over 30 species of aquatic plants and animals are farmed in Hawai‘i, utilizing both land and ocean sites and the latest technologies. The state’s support of the aquaculture industry builds on the history and culturally important traditions dating back over 800 years to when loko i‘a were first constructed.
While the guide is designed to help prospective aquaculture businesses have a better understanding of the complex permitting process, it is not a legal document, and the Department of Agriculture strongly recommends contacting the relevant permitting agencies early in the planning process.
For more information, contact Mr. Todd Low, at (808) 483-7130 or todd.e.low@hawaii.gov
—By Alice Van Veenendaal
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The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program is part of the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa’s prestigious School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology. It supports an innovative program of research, education, and extension services directed to increasing sustainability of coastal and marine resources and resilience of coastal communities of the state, region, and nation.
Science serving Hawai‘i and the Pacific since 1968.