February 27, 2003, Introduced by Senators BIRKHOLZ, HAMMERSTROM, SANBORN, JACOBS, GOSCHKA, CROPSEY and SIKKEMA and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs.
A bill to amend 1996 PA 199, entitled
"Michigan aquaculture development act,"
by amending sections 2 and 4 (MCL 286.872 and 286.874).
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
1 Sec. 2. As used in this act:
2 (a) "Aquacultural products" means any products, coproducts,
3 or by-products of aquaculture species.
4 (b) "Aquaculture" means the commercial husbandry of
5 aquaculture species on the approved list of aquaculture species,
6 including, but not limited to, the culturing, producing, growing,
7 using, propagating, harvesting, transporting, importing,
8 exporting, or marketing of aquacultural products under an
9 appropriate permit or registration.
10 (c) "Aquaculture facility" means a farm or farm operation
11 engaged in any aspect of aquaculture in privately controlled
1 waters capable of holding all life stages of aquaculture species
2 with a barrier or enclosure to prevent their escape into waters
3 of the state.
4 (d) "Aquaculture facility registration" means a registration
5 issued by the director allowing a facility to engage in
6 aquaculture.
7 (e) "Aquaculture research permit" means a permit issued by
8 the director to researchers to study and culture aquaculture
9 species not included on the approved list of aquaculture species
10 for the evaluation of aquacultural potential and to provide a
11 scientific basis for including the aquaculture species on the
12 approved list.
13 (f) "Aquaculture species" means aquatic animal organisms
14 including, but not limited to, fish, crustaceans, mollusks,
15 reptiles, or amphibians reared or cultured under controlled
16 conditions in an aquaculture facility.
17 (g) "Aquaculturist" means a person involved in or engaged in
18 any aspect of aquaculture.
19 (h) "Aquarium" means any park, building, cage, enclosure, or
20 other structure or premises in which aquaculture species are kept
21 for public exhibition or viewing, regardless of whether
22 compensation is received.
23 (i) "Confinement research facility" means a facility holding
24 an aquaculture research
permit, and enclosed in a secure
25 structure, and separated from other aquaculture facilities and in
26 which aquaculture species are isolated and maintained in complete
27 and continuous confinement to prevent their escape into the
1 environment and to prevent the release of any possible pathogens
2 into the environment.
3 (j) "Department" means the Michigan department of
4 agriculture.
5 (k) "Director" means the director of the Michigan department
6 of agriculture or his or her designee.
7 (l) "Farm" or "farm operation" means those terms as defined
8 in the Michigan right
to farm act, Act No. 93 of the Public Acts
9 of 1981, being
sections 286.471 to 286.474 of the Michigan
10 Compiled Laws 1981 PA 93, MCL 286.471 to 286.474.
11 (m) "Genetically engineered organism" means an organism whose
12 genome, chromosomal or extrachromosomal, is modified permanently
13 and heritably using recombinant nucleic acid techniques.
14 (n) (m) "Law
enforcement officer" means a person appointed
15 by the state or a legal
local governmental unit who is
16 responsible for the enforcement of the criminal laws of this
17 state.
18 (o) (n) "Person"
means an individual, corporation, limited
19 liability corporation
company, partnership, association, joint
20 venture, or other legal entity.
21 (p) (o) "Privately
controlled waters" means waters
22 controlled within ponds, vats, raceways, tanks, and any other
23 indoor or outdoor
structure wholly within or on the land of an
24 owner or lessor land owned or leased by an aquaculturist and
25 used with an aquaculture facility or confinement research
26 facility. Privately controlled waters includes those waters
27 diverted for use in an aquaculture facility by an aquaculturist
1 exercising his or her riparian rights.
2 (q) "Recombinant nucleic acid techniques" means laboratory
3 techniques through which genetic material is isolated and
4 manipulated in vitro and then inserted into an organism.
5 (r) (p) "Retail
bait outlet" means a facility that sells
6 directly to the consumer any live or dead organism, edible or
7 digestible material, organic or processed food, or scented
8 material each of which may be used to attract fish, including,
9 but not limited to, worms, leeches, aquatic insects, crayfish,
10 amphibians, fish eggs, minnows or other fish, marshmallows,
11 cheese, pork rinds, or
any part thereof. , directly to the
12 consumer.
13 (s) (q) "Retail
ornamental fish facility" means a facility
14 in which a person sells, imports or exports at wholesale or
15 retail, leases, or loans ornamental species of aquatic organisms
16 that may live in fresh, brackish, or saltwater environments to
17 the general public for home or public display purposes.
18 (t) (r) "Waters
of the state" means groundwaters, lakes,
19 rivers, and streams and all other watercourses and waters within
20 the jurisdiction of the state and also the Great Lakes bordering
21 the state.
22 (u) (s) "Zoo"
means any park, building, cage, enclosure, or
23 other structure or premises in which a live animal is kept for
24 public exhibition or viewing, regardless of whether compensation
25 is received.
26 Sec. 4. (1) Aquaculture is an agricultural enterprise and
27 is considered to be part
of the farming and agricultural
1 industry of this state. The director shall assure that
2 aquaculture is afforded all rights, privileges, opportunities,
3 and responsibilities of other agricultural enterprises.
4 (2) Aquaculture is a form of agriculture. Aquaculture
5 facilities and
aquaculture uses are considered to be a form of
6 agricultural facilities and uses.
7 (3) Aquacultural products lawfully taken, produced,
8 purchased, possessed, or acquired from within this state or
9 imported into this state are the exclusive and private property
10 of the aquaculturist.
11 (4) This act does not prohibit an aquaculturist from
12 exercising riparian
rights for water diversion. Water If water
13 is discharged back into the waters of the state, the discharge
14 shall be pursuant to any appropriate permit issued by the
15 department of environmental quality, if such a permit is
16 required.
17 (5) An aquaculturist harvesting aquaculture species from a
18 registered aquaculture facility or a permitted confinement
19 research facility is exempt from size, catch, and possession
20 limits, closed seasons, and any other restriction imposed in
21 parts 459 (propagation
of game fish in private waters) and 487
22 (sport fishing) of the natural resources and environmental
23 protection act, Act
No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being
24 sections 324.45901 to
324.45908 and 324.48701 to 324.48740 of the
25 Michigan Compiled Laws 1994
PA 451, MCL 324.45901 to 324.45908
26 and 324.48701 to 324.48740.
27 (6) This act does not give an aquaculturist authority to take
1 wild species from the waters of the state and held in trust, in
2 violation of Act No.
451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being
3 sections 324.101 to
324.90106 of the Michigan Compiled Laws the
4 natural resources and environmental protection act, 1994 PA 451,
5 MCL 324.101 to 324.90106, unless under a permit issued by the
6 department of natural resources.
7 (7) This act does not give an aquaculturist authority to
8 release any aquaculture species into any waters of the state that
9 are not an aquaculture facility unless the aquaculturist first
10 obtains an appropriate permit from the director of the department
11 of natural resources. It is intended that the department of
12 natural resources shall consider a registration issued under this
13 act as the equivalent of a game fish breeders license issued
14 under part 487 of Act
No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being
15 sections 324.48701 to
324.48740 of the Michigan Compiled Laws
16 459 of the natural resources and environmental protection act,
17 1994 PA 451, MCL 324.45901 to 324.45908.
18 (8) Any movement, importing, or exporting of aquaculture
19 species shall be in
compliance with the animal industry act, of
20 1987, Act No. 466 of
the Public Acts of 1988, being sections
21 287.701 to 287.747 of
the Michigan Compiled Laws 1988
PA 466,
22 MCL 287.701 to 287.745, for purposes of obtaining a planting
23 permit.
24 (9) For the purposes of this act, each genetically engineered
25 organism that is a variant of an aquaculture species shall be
26 considered a distinct aquaculture species. A genetically
27 engineered organism that is a variant of an aquaculture species
1 is not included on the list of approved aquaculture species under
2 section 5 unless specifically identified on the list or
3 specifically identified in a rule promulgated under section 12 as
4 being included on the list. A genetically engineered organism
5 that is a variant of an aquaculture species is not covered by an
6 aquaculture research permit under section 8 unless specifically
7 identified in the permit.