Offshore Aquaculture Farm Permitting
Manna Fish Farms, Inc. (MFF) wanted to farm finfish, shellfish and macroalgae, as well as research and develop an integrated, multi-trophic, sustainable farming operation in the open ocean off the east coast of Long Island, NY. By pioneering the effort to establish the first farm off the east coast of the United States, MFF intends to serve as a model for future offshore fish farms by promoting responsible, sustainable open ocean mariculture in federal waters.
Kleinschmidt assisted MFF in engaging representatives from federal (US Army Corps of Engineers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Coast Guard, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission) and state (New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and New York Department of State) agencies for guidance on obtaining approval to implement the offshore farming operation in federal waters off the east coast of New York. Kleinschmidt also assessed potential impacts to navigation by describing typical vessel traffic in the area with AIS data to help secure approval for the US Coast Guard. Once the US Army Corps of Engineers became the lead agency, Kleinschmidt worked with the MFF team of scientists and advisors to prepare a permit application package, which was submitted in June 2017.
Kleinschmidt’s previous experience with federal permitting and our relationships with agency staff proved immensely helpful to determining which agencies needed to be consulted and how to move forward with permitting MFF concept. Our navigation impacts analysis found little to no impact of the navigability in the area with few vessels typically traversing the proposed farm area.