Category Archives: Growers

California Seaweed Festival

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4th Annual California Seaweed Festival will be held at the Port Pavilion on Broadway Pier in San Diego, CA from November 3 – 4, 2023.

The California Seaweed Festival arose from decades of studying seaweeds and and learning myriad ways that seaweeds make life better. The festival will showcase uses of seaweed from farming, sustainable technology to art. There will also be hands-on activities at this family friendly event.

If you are interested in presenting, displaying and/or volunteering at the event click: Seaweed Festival.

SBA Positioned to Assist California Businesses and Residents Affected by the Statewide Winter Storm

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Low-interest federal disaster loans are now available to California businesses and residents as a result of President Biden’s major disaster declaration, U.S. Small Business Administration’s Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced.

The declaration covers Merced, Sacramento and Santa Cruz counties as a result of severe winter storms, flooding, landslides, and mudslides that began Dec. 27, 2022.

“With President Biden’s declaration, SBA is working closely with FEMA and our state and local officials on the ground to deliver expedient disaster recovery loans and support that will aid Californians impacted by these severe and devastating winter storms, flooding and mudslides,” said Administrator Guzman. “My heartfelt condolences go out to the families who have lost loved ones, and I urge affected residents to stay safe and heed the guidance of local emergency officials. As the state faces continued rainfall and heightened risks of flooding and mudslides, the SBA is committed to providing the full breadth of our resources to help small businesses and communities recover and rebuild stronger than before.”

Businesses of all sizes and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory and other business assets. SBA can also lend additional funds to businesses and homeowners to help with the cost of improvements to protect, prevent or minimize the same type of disaster damage from occurring in the future.

For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations of any size, SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster. Economic injury assistance is available to businesses regardless of any property damage.

Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate. Homeowners and renters are eligible for up to $40,000 to repair or replace damaged or destroyed personal property.

Interest rates can be as low as 3.305 percent for businesses, 2.375 percent for private nonprofit organizations and 2.313 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant’s financial condition.

To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, survivors must first contact the Federal Emergency Management Agency at www.disasterassistance.gov. As soon as Federal-State Disaster Recovery Centers open throughout the affected area, SBA will provide one-on-one assistance to disaster loan applicants. Additional information and details on the location of disaster recovery centers is available by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at (800) 659-2955.

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USDA Provides Payments of nearly $800 Million in Assistance to Help Keep Farmers Farming

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Courtesy of NAA:

Immediate Help for Over 13,000 Distressed USDA Farm Loan Borrowers; Begins process to provide up to $500 million more for up to 23,000 additional borrowers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced that distressed borrowers with qualifying USDA farm loans have already received nearly $800 million in assistance, as part of the $3.1 billion in assistance for distressed farm loan borrowers provided through Section 22006 of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The IRA directed USDA to expedite assistance to distressed borrowers of direct or guaranteed loans administered by USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) whose operations face financial risk.

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National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) – Small Business Programs

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USDA NIFA has now released the FY23 SBIR/STTR Phase 1 RFA.

The SBIR program supports US-based small businesses solving issues (with commercial potential) related to food and agriculture. This program has and continues to support an Aquaculture priority area (SBIR 8.7).

Here are the links to information and to the application package on grants.gov:

Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs Phase I | National Institute of Food and Agriculture (usda.gov)

View Opportunity | GRANTS.GOV

Please share the RFA links with any interested parties and let any and all know that if they are interested in applying they can email me at timothy.sullivan@usda.gov and I will provide them with all requisite information.

Thanks in advance for your help in growing the USDA NIFA SBIR 8.7 program area priority!

Tim

Tim Sullivan, National Program Leader, Animal Health and Aquaculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture

Invitation to Webinar Regarding New Aquaculture Lease Applications: Criteria for Public Interest Determination, on July 12, 2022

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Dear Members of the California Ocean Community, 

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (Department) and California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) staff invite interested stakeholders participate in a public workshop series related to developing potential criteria for Commission use when determining if individual proposed new state water bottom leases for aquaculture are in the public interest.

An introductory webinar will be held via Zoom, July 12, 2022 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. At the introductory webinar, the Department will present an overview of initial draft criteria and answer questions; the public will have the opportunity to provide input on the initial draft criteria during the Commission’s Marine Resources Committee meeting later that week and at subsequent workshop(s) (see below). 

This effort to define criteria by which the Commission will make its determination of whether each new aquaculture lease application should be further considered is being facilitated by the Marine Resources Committee, where full public discussion and written comment is encouraged. The Marine Resources Committee will next meet on July 14, 2022 in Santa Rosa and via webinar/teleconference.

Additional information and background context on this effort, as well as meeting and support materials, are available at the Department’s Aquaculture webpage, including background materials and the initial draft criteria.

Materials and information on how to join the July 12 webinar will be posted to the Commission’s meetings page early next week, at https://fgc.ca.gov/Meetings/2022.  Webinar Registration please select: Registration.

The next installment of the workshop series is expected to occur later this summer or early fall, for stakeholder input on revised draft criteria once it is prepared. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact us at: AquacultureCoord@wildlife.ca.gov or FGC@fgc.ca.gov.

We look forward to your participation.

Thank you,

Randy Lovell
State Aquaculture Coordinator
CA Department of Fish and Wildlife

Melissa Miller-Henson
Executive Director
CA Fish and Game Commission

2022 Census of Agriculture

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The 2022 Census of Agriculture is right around the corner and USDA NASS is making every effort to count all aquaculture producers in the United States.  

If you produce any aquaculture products and want to make sure that you are counted in the 2022 Census of Agriculture and the 2023 Census of Aquaculture, please sign up your operation using this online form:  2023 Census of Aquaculture.

Once you have signed up, you might receive a short survey in the next two years to further categorize your operation. But most likely, you will not receive a survey until the 2022 Census of Agriculture in January or February, 2023.

When signing up, please keep these items in mind to better understand how USDA NASS counts aquaculture production:

  • To be counted as an aquaculture farm, some form of intervention in the rearing process, such as seeding, stocking, feeding, or protection from predators, must be done by the producer. 
  • Aquaculture is defined as the farming of aquatic organisms, including baitfish, crustaceans, food fish, mollusks, ornamental fish, sport or game fish, algae and sea vegetables, and other aquaculture products. 
  • Fish, shellfish, and other aquatic products which are caught or harvested by the public from non-controlled waters or beds without any intervention, or input costs, are considered wild caught and are NOT included in the USDA NASS count of aquaculture farms.

Remember, participating in the 2022 Census of Agriculture and the 2023 Census of Aquaculture is Your Voice, Your Future, and Your Opportunity. To learn more about the Census of Agriculture and Aquaculture, visit www.agcensus.usda.gov.

All information you provide will be held confidential under penalty of federal law.  There is NO sharing of individual farm financial data with other federal agencies other than the final compiled reports that are publicly available.  Since NASS surveys are conducted for statistical purposes only, individual reports are protected by law, even from other governmental agencies. Please read and share the NASS Confidentiality Pledge.

If you have any questions, contact Tony Dorn at tony.dorn@usda.gov or (202) 690-3223.

United States Fish and Wildlife Services (USFWS) and the Aquatic Animal Drug Approval Partnership

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The AADAP program, which is a part of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service’s Fish and Aquatic Conservation program (USFWS-FAC), is the only program in the U.S. singularly dedicated to obtaining U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of new drugs needed for use in fish culture and fisheries management. AADAP is comprised of four sub-programs: the National Investigational New Animal Drug (INAD), Research, New Animal Drug Approval (NADA), and Outreach programs. Together these programs provide fish culturists and fish health professionals with legal access to a variety of aquaculture drugs currently in the drug approval process, evaluate the safety and efficacy of aquaculture drugs, assist drug sponsors in navigating the new animal drug approval process, and provide fisheries professionals with up-to-date information about existing and pending drug approvals, as well as extensive drug use guidance information. We are a partner-based organization and couldn’t accomplish our mission without the support of our colleagues in the field.

AADAP sends out a monthly news bulletin via an email listserv. These bulletins contain updates about aquaculture drugs currently in the approval process, AADAP programmatic updates, and aquaculture drug use guidance information. If you would like to sign up to receive the AADAP Update, please email Julie Schroeter to be added to our email list.

NOAA Maps Options for Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOA) – “Aquaculture Atlases”

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Courtesy of National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)

Monday, November 15, 2021 NOAA released two Atlases compiling the best available science to inform the identification of Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) in the Gulf of Mexico and Southern California. NOAA previously identified these regions for their potential to host sustainable commercial aquaculture development in the United States. Areas in the Atlases will have characteristics expected to support multiple types of aquaculture industries including finfish, shellfish, seaweed, or some combination. 

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2021 Humboldt Bay Symposium: Sustainable Blue Economy

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Symposium Overview

The 2021 Humboldt Bay Symposium will be webcast via Zoom on September 28-30. A long-standing local tradition, the Symposium is a community-oriented conference and provides a unique opportunity for the general public to engage directly with scientists, managers, and local experts. It is a forum for learning about the latest developments on a variety of current issues related to the Humboldt Bay region including research and restoration of coastal ecosystems, economic development, and sustainable use and recreation. 

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