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AGENDA Substitute Page
Substitute Item 1 UF/IFAS Management Agreements/Suwannee Sound Region REQUEST: Consideration of authorization of two Management Agreements to use sovereignty submerged lands to conduct research related to the ecology of the Suwannee Sound region. COUNTIES:
Dixie (15-MA-1001) APPLICANT: University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences LOCATION: Specific parcels within five aquaculture high-density lease areas; including Gulf Jackson, Pelican Reef, Derricks in Levy County, and Pine Island and Horseshoe in Dixie County CONSIDERATION: The lease fees for using the proposed parcels will be waived for the duration of the management agreements. STAFF REMARKS: The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) seeks to enter into two management agreements with the University of Florida to use eight aquaculture lease parcels that were previously approved by the Board of Trustees for cultivating oysters and clams. These aquaculture lease parcels are presently administered by DACS, and their use in the proposed management agreements is within DACS' current delegation of authority from the Board of Trustees. The request for the management agreements does not include the use of any additional sovereignty submerged lands. Under the management agreement, vacant aquaculture lease parcels will be used by researchers to grow clams and oysters as experimental populations. The proposed research project is designed to determine the effect of plankton abundance and composition on the condition, growth, and survival of oysters and clams within the Suwannee Sound region. The proposed management agreements include a total of 18.0 acres; twelve acres in Levy County and six acres in Dixie County. The requested area is comprised of ten previously approved and surveyed aquaculture lease parcels; eight parcels are two-acre parcels and two parcels are one-acre parcels. All of these parcels are vacant aquaculture leases that were never issued, terminated, cancelled or otherwise returned to the state. Since these parcels are generally characterized as unsuitable for commercial clam aquaculture, the Department has been reluctant to encourage potential clam farmers to apply for these parcels. All or most of the area in these parcels include substrate that will not support commercial clam production, and as such have been taken out of cultivation. However, these parcels may include sufficient suitable substrate to conduct the proposed research. Since they have been previously surveyed and the boundaries can be easily marked, there is an advantage to including the entire parcel instead of only the area to be used in the growth and survival experiments. The term of the management plan will be 18 months; extending until February 2004. A consideration of the status of any local government comprehensive plans was not made for this item. DACS has determined that the proposed action is not subject to the local government planning process. (See Attachment 1, Pages 1-33) RECOMMEND APPROVAL PENDING THE FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION'S ISSUANCE OF A SPECIAL ACTIVITY LICENSE ***************************************************** Substitute
Item 2 Aquaculture Policy Discussion/Direction/Chapter 18-21 Amendments COUNTY: Statewide APPLICANT: Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services STAFF REMARKS: The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (DACS) requests discussion and direction concerning the Board of Trustees' authority to delegate specific responsibilities to DACS that relate to aquacultural activities on or over sovereignty submerged lands. CS/CS/CS SB806, 2000-364, Laws of Florida, amended section 253.002, Florida Statutes (F.S.), to allow DACS to act as staff to the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund (Board of Trustees) for purposes relative to aquaculture. On July 25, 2000, the Board of Trustees approved without objection (1) delegation of authority to the Commissioner of Agriculture "to perform duties and functions on their behalf for actions associated with aquaculture on sovereignty submerged lands" and (2) authorization for DACS to initiate rulemaking to amend chapter 18-21, Florida Administrative Code (F.A.C.), to specify DACS' duties and functions related to managing aquacultural activities on sovereignty submerged lands. Subsection 253.002(2), F.S., provides that delegations to DACS "of authority to take final agency action on applications for authorization to use submerged lands owned by the board of trustees, without any action on behalf of the board of trustees, shall be by rule." In the course of rulemaking, a question has been raised concerning the scope of the duties of DACS as provided in section 253.002, F.S. Specifically, the issue asks (1) whether DACS has Board of Trustees' responsibility for aquaculture and aquaculture-related activities such as docks situated on or over sovereignty submerged lands when such activities are associated with on-shore aquaculture facilities, and (2) whether these activities, referred to as aquaculture support docks, should be authorized under the provisions for aquaculture activities or commercial docks. In keeping with its statutory mandate provided in paragraph 597.003(1)(k), F.S., DACS shall have and exercise the following functions, powers and duties with regard to aquaculture: "Make available state lands and the water column for the purposes of producing aquaculture products when the aquaculture activity is compatible with state resource management goals, environmental protection, and proprietary interest and when such state lands and waters are determined to be suitable for aquacultural development by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund pursuant to section 253.68; and be responsible for all saltwater aquaculture activities located on sovereignty submerged land or in the water column above such land and adjacent facilities directly related to the aquaculture activity." This statutory direction is consistent with the legislative intent that DACS shall be the primary agency responsible for regulating aquaculture. Additionally, delegating authority to DACS to act on behalf of the Board of Trustees for all applications to use sovereignty submerged lands and water columns for aquacultural purposes accomplishes the objective of streamlining the application process into a 'one stop' process. Florida has been very progressive in its support of aquacultural development as a practicable alternative to commercial fishing and conventional agriculture to foster economic development in rural and coastal communities. The use of sovereignty submerged lands has been a major component in the growth of marine aquaculture, as the Board of Trustees and the Florida Legislature have recognized that it is in the state's interest to promote aquacultural production by leasing sovereignty submerged lands. Shellfish
aquaculture, primarily the growing of hard clams, is the fastest growing
sector of marine aquaculture. The value of farm-raised clams has increased
from $1 million a decade ***************************************************** Substitute Item 2, cont. ago to more than $18 million in 2001. The foundation for this growing agro-business is the state's Aquaculture Lease Program, which provides the use of state-owned submerged lands for aquacultural purposes. Although the Aquaculture Lease Program provides a unique opportunity for aquaculturists to use state-owned lands for aquacultural purposes, the lease program does not specifically provide for using state-owned lands for all existing aquacultural uses. In order to assist the industry as it grows, DACS has proposed two modified forms of authorization to support aquacultural development on sovereignty submerged lands. The new forms of authorization are (1) an aquaculture dock lease and (2) an aquaculture letter of consent, both of which provide authorization specifically for aquaculture docks that are associated with on-shore aquaculture facilities. Depending upon policy direction from the Board of Trustees, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is prepared to initiate the notice of proposed rulemaking pursuant to chapter 120, F.S., or to schedule additional workshops to receive public comment, since the draft rule has been changed from the version that was reviewed in workshops a year ago. At the discretion of the Board of Trustees, DACS will conducts further workshops or will publish the proposed rule amendments to chapter 18-21, F.A.C., in the Florida Administrative Weekly to seek public comment concerning the proposed rule amendments. After receiving public comments and making recommended changes to the proposed draft rule, DACS will bring a final draft of the rule back before the Board of Trustees for consideration and then again for final adoption. (See Attachment 2, Pages 1-33) RECOMMEND WITHDRAWAL |
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