H.R. 4898 — Supporting Equity for Aquaculture and Seafood Act

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to Congress, not later than one year after enactment and annually thereafter through FY2028, a report on the department's seafood- and aquaculture-related activities in the previous fiscal year that includes (1) the total amount and value of expenditures on seafood and aquaculture purchases; (2) the total amount and value of expenditures on seafood and aquaculture promotion and outreach; (3) the number and amount of grants to the seafood and aquaculture industries; and (4) the number, amount, and subject matter of grants for seafood and aquaculture research.

This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to submit to Congress, not later than two years after the date of enactment of this Act, a report evaluating (1) the Department of Agriculture's role in supporting aquaculture and the seafood industry; (2) U.S. domestic seafood processing capacity and the impact of overseas processing on domestic supply chains, aquaculture, and the seafood industry; (3) aquaculture and seafood producers' access to Department grants and resources, as compared to traditional land-based farmers; (4) potential environmental benefits of aquaculture with respect to climate, conservation, and pollution; (5) potential negative impacts of aquaculture with respect to pollution, waste, disease, and other repercussions; and (6) recommendations to support and advance best practices for aquaculture in the United States.

This section defines the term “seafood industry” in this title to mean shellfish growers, shellfish harvesters, sea vegetable growers, fish farmers, commercial fishermen that harvest shellfish or finfish, and other aquaculture producers.

This section requires the Secretary of Agriculture, in awarding grants or other assistance under USDA-administered programs, to give aquaculture producers (i.e., those raising fish and other aquatic species) the same consideration as animal agriculture producers (i.e., those raising land-based livestock such as beef, pork, poultry, and dairy animals). The section further requires the Secretary to ensure adequate and fair funding levels for aquaculture producers through such programs.

This section inserts new section 226C in subtitle B of the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (7 U.S.C. 6931 et seq.) to require (1) development and implementation of aquaculture education and training for all existing and new employees in each Farm Service Agency (FSA) regional office on aquaculture-related federal program eligibility, aquaculture's role in U.S. agriculture, and Department of Agriculture (USDA) support for seafood producers and aquaculture; (2) issuance of a department-wide memorandum not later than two years after enactment affirming aquaculture's vital role in U.S. agriculture and reiterating program eligibility for aquaculture and seafood products and producers; and (3) convening of a conference (including virtual platforms or webinars) on the state of U.S. aquaculture for USDA officers, employees, and stakeholders, beginning not later than two years after enactment and every two years thereafter. The section also redesignates the Food Access Liaison provision (previously the first section 225, 7 U.S.C. 6925) as section 224A in subtitle A, effective as if included in the Agricultural Act of 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115-334), and amends section 296(b)(7) to exempt implementation of section 226C from Secretary delegation restrictions.

This section amends the authorization of appropriations for the Regional Aquaculture Centers program—which supports research, extension, demonstration, and education to enhance U.S. aquaculture—by (1) authorizing $30 million for each of fiscal years 2026 through 2030 to carry out section 1475(b) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977; and (2) limiting to 15% the share of appropriated funds that may be used for program administration expenses.

This section (1) revises a priority area under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)—a competitive grant program in the Department of Agriculture for fundamental and applied research, extension, and education in food and agricultural sciences—to add, under aquaculture in animal systems, methods of increasing survival rate and adaptability of shellfish, including resistance to heat, disease, salinity, and acidification; and (2) establishes a competitive grant program to develop next-generation technology, such as more efficient gear and equipment, to reduce pollution and fuel usage in the seafood and aquaculture industries, with eligible entities including regional aquaculture centers, institutions of higher education, federally funded research and development centers, and certain labor organizations; and authorizes $10 million for each of FY2026 through 2030.

This section requires the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) to conduct research and development, or contract with qualified persons for such work, on an insurance policy for aquaculture products (i.e., farmed fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and aquatic plants) and to make the policy available for the first reinsurance year after enactment. (Thus, the policy expands FCIC's crop insurance offerings—previously focused primarily on terrestrial crops—to aquaculture producers.)