H.R. 9673 — MARA Act of 2026

This section establishes the Office of Aquaculture within the National Marine Fisheries Service headquarters. It requires at least one regional aquaculture coordinator in each regional fisheries office, directs the Office to coordinate implementation of offshore aquaculture permitting and research programs, develop best management practices incorporating environmental and tribal considerations, administer industry support and centers of excellence, and authorizes agreements allowing coastal states to participate in related activities in qualifying state waters.

This section establishes an offshore aquaculture assessment program within 180 days of enactment to evaluate viability using best available science, stakeholder input, and demonstration project data. The program examines facility designs for durability against severe weather and ocean conditions, prevention of escapes and protected-species entanglements, marine-environment impacts, navigation safety, monitoring technologies, and relative risks, benefits, and costs across species and geographies, and requires a public report with project descriptions and progress within 5 years.

This section directs the Administrator to issue permits for commercial-scale demonstration projects for offshore aquaculture facilities after establishing the assessment program under section 201. Projects must use only native or historically naturalized species, avoid genetically modified organisms that present material ecological risks, minimize escape and pollution risks, comply with the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and NEPA, and include escape response plans and public comment periods of 60 days following a 90-day application review.

This section designates the Administration as the lead Federal agency for providing information on permitting requirements and coordinating with the Secretaries of the Interior, Agriculture, Health and Human Services, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard, and other agencies to simplify permitting for demonstration projects under section 202. It requires those agencies to initiate a rulemaking within 1 year after enactment establishing a unified permitting and review process with public notice and comment for initial issuance, renewal, and transfer of permits. It mandates a single consolidated environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act and requires agencies to coordinate reviews to respond to applicants within 240 days. It treats offshore aquaculture as a commercial fishing operation for purposes of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972.

This section requires owners and operators of offshore aquaculture demonstration projects to submit annual reports to the Office beginning one year after project commencement and continuing until termination. Reports must cover production data, wild species interactions and mitigation, effluent and gear monitoring, environmental impacts, feed sourcing details including wild-caught marine ingredient concentrations, data for the National Academies study, demographic and economic impact information, and navigation and safety effects. It directs the Administrator to provide technical assistance on request, establish emergency reporting for protected species interactions, and protect personally identifiable and confidential business information.

This section clarifies that a permit for a demonstration project does not supersede or substitute for any other federal or state authorization required by law. It limits the title's applicability to permit applications in process or permits in effect on the date of enactment of this Act.

This section directs the Administrator to support offshore aquaculture through existing grant programs for domestic and international marketing and promotion of cultured species; establish a new grant program, potentially via aquaculture centers of excellence, for workforce education and training; organize regional networks of experts and stakeholders for technical assistance, extension services, permit information, mentoring, and outreach; create and maintain a public aquaculture database on research, technologies, monitoring, and best practices while safeguarding confidential information; and provide region-specific technical assistance programs with regular operator consultations.

This section establishes a grant program, administered in consultation with aquaculture stakeholders and the national sea grant college program, to assist covered institutions—including minority-serving institutions, historically Black colleges and universities, and Tribal colleges and universities—in establishing or enhancing aquaculture curricula for undergraduate, graduate, or certificate programs. It designates recipients as Aquaculture Centers of Excellence and authorizes $25 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2030.

This section directs the Administrator to contract with the Ocean Studies Board of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to complete, within 5 years after establishment of the assessment program under section 201, a study developing the scientific basis for regulating offshore aquaculture and to submit the results to Congress and make them publicly available. The study must identify optimal facility operations, a definition of responsible feed and inputs, potential adverse environmental and health effects from antibiotics, pollution, gear, disease, and other factors, mitigation methods, data needs, economic impacts, and recommendations for legislative or administrative action on standards and practices.

This section directs the Comptroller General to submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees within 5 years after the Administrator establishes the offshore aquaculture assessment program under section 201. The report examines permitting, monitoring, and regulation of offshore aquaculture over the 15-year period before the program’s establishment and the period since, drawing on literature, case studies, and stakeholder input, and covering feasibility of a lead permitting agency, lessons on project success factors, state and community involvement, safety protocols, environmental and economic effects, regulatory sufficiency, and recommendations for future operations.