About the Subcommittee on Aquaculture

The Subcommittee on Aquaculture (SCA) has previously been known as the Interagency Working Group on Aquaculture (IWGA) and the Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture (JSA). The SCA serves as the Federal interagency coordinating group to increase the overall effectiveness and productivity of Federal aquaculture research, regulation, technology transfer, and assistance programs. This interagency coordinating group has been functioning since before the National Aquaculture Act was signed into law in 1980.

Authorizing Legislation: National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (Public Law 96-362. 94 Stat. 1198, 16 U.S.C. 2801, et seq.) and the National Aquaculture Improvement Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-198, 99 Stat. 1641).

National Policy (from the National Aquaculture Act of 1980): "Congress declares that aquaculture has the potential for reducing the United States trade deficit in fisheries products, for augmenting existing commercial and recreational fisheries, and for producing other renewable resources, thereby assisting the United States in meeting its future food needs and contributing to the solution of world resource problems. It is, therefore, in the national interest, and it is the national policy, to encourage the development of aquaculture in the United States."

Reporting Authorities: The SCA is a statutory subcommittee that operates under the Committee on Environment of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) under the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President.