Purpose

• Reorganize Minnesota’s aquaculture oversight by transferring several responsibilities from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to the Department of Agriculture (MDA), while clarifying authorities and updating related statutes.
• Strengthen protections for public waters, natural habitats, and wildlife from aquaculture activities; prevent the spread of disease and nonindigenous species; and ensure private aquatic life remains secure from unauthorized taking or harvest.
• Create funding and governance structures (including a dedicated aquaculture account) to support the new framework and ongoing compliance.

Main Provisions

• Transfer of duties and authority
  • Moves responsibility for administering and enforcing certain aquaculture-related statutes from the DNR to the Commissioner of Agriculture, with a note that not all personnel transfers occur automatically.
  • Recodifies existing provisions and repeals a small number of prior sections and rules to align with the new structure.
• Regulatory scope and management
  • Licenses and permits for aquatic farms remain required; the commissioner must establish license classifications and fees, and develop best management practices for sustainable aquaculture and wetlands used for aquaculture, including manmade ponds.
  • Defines who has authority (Commissioner) and clarifies roles between the Commissioner of Natural Resources and the Commissioner of Agriculture.
• Inspections and enforcement
  • Conservation officers may inspect aquatic farming premises, vehicles, equipment, and private aquatic life; inspections require a written justification, and the owner/operator may be present.
  • Enforcement of the aquaculture provisions is authorized under existing conservation laws.
• Transportation and stock movement (bill of lading)
  • Introduces a state-issued bill of lading for intrastate transport of aquatic life (excluding many VHS-susceptible species and specific fish such as salmonids or catfish, under certain conditions) between licensed facilities and for stocking waters not currently carrying certain species.
  • Requires submitting a bill of lading copy to the regional fisheries manager at least 72 hours before transportation.
  • Sets additional requirements for stocking of waters that are not public waters, including timing and method of submission (telecopy allowed) and conditions for confirming non-public waters.
  • Bill of lading forms must be issued by the Department of Natural Resources Agriculture in St. Paul; new forms cannot be issued until older forms are returned.
• Fish health, disease prevention, and testing
  • Aquatic farms propagating salmonids, catfish, or species on the VHS-susceptible list with effluent into public waters must have a fish health inspection at least annually, conducted by a certified fish health inspector, using established testing methods (Fish Health Blue Book, OIE Diagnostic Manual).
  • The commissioner may authorize alternative testing timing/methods by written order if biosecurity is not compromised; such alternatives are not subject to certain rulemaking requirements.
  • Results must be provided to the commissioner; data must be stored for three years; a health inspection fee is charged per lot; a fish health certificate is issued upon payment and inspection.
  • Additional inspections may be conducted at transfer stations or for in-transit stock, with sampling guided by standard manuals; certain lots may be moved prior to a full inspection if approved under specified conditions.
• Brood stock and eggs
  • The state may sell brood stock (game fish brood stock and native rough fish brood stock) to private hatcheries or aquatic farms at fair wholesale value.
  • Up to 20 pairs of adults per species may be provided for brood stock development every three years if available; if brood stock is not available, a permit to take by angling may be issued for up to 20 pairs per species, with daily limits and methods governed by game and fish laws.
  • The state may offer for sale or barter eggs or fry from its annual game fish egg harvest.
• Stocking restrictions and pricing
  • Walleyes stocked north of a certain highway (State Highway 210) located outside the northern area require commissioner approval.
  • The commissioner may price game fish fry and eggs to reflect production costs, allowing sale or barter at not less than cost.
• Funding and accounts
  • Establishes an Aquaculture Account within the Agricultural Fund. Money in the account (including interest) goes to the commissioner of agriculture to administer the aquaculture-related sections.
  • Money received under these sections must be deposited to the state treasury agricultural fund and credited to the Game and Fish Fund Aquaculture Account.
• Rules, monitoring, and oversight
  • The commissioner may adopt rules consistent with the aquaculture sections and must notify the Minnesota Aquaculture Commission and the commissioners of Agriculture and Natural Resources before publishing proposed rules.
• Interagency coordination and implementation
  • The bill reorganizes duties and renumbers certain statutes; it requires revisor renumbering to align with the new structure and cross-reference changes.
• Repeals
  • Repeals Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 97C.211 subdivision 5 and Minnesota Rules part 6250.0101 as part of the consolidation and renumbering.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Authority shift: Key aquaculture regulation and enforcement responsibilities move from the DNR to the Department of Agriculture, with a framework to fund licensing and enforcement activities through user fees (self-sustaining).
• New regulatory tools: Introduction of a state-issued bill of lading for movement of aquatic life, enhanced fish health inspections, and a formal process for stocking and movement restrictions, including VHS-related safeguards.
• New funding structure: Creation of the Aquaculture Account within the Agricultural Fund to support administration and enforcement of aquaculture-related statutes.
• New compliance and reporting requirements: Regular fish health inspections, data retention, and certificate issuance; reporting and notice requirements tied to transport and stocking decisions.
• Repeals and renumbering: Elimination of certain existing provisions and rules (97C.2115 and Minnesota Rules part 6250.0101) to align with the new structure and cross-references.

Potential Impacts

• Aquaculture operators: New licensing, transport documentation, inspection regimes, and potential changes in costs due to fees and health testing requirements; clearer accountability at the state level.
• Private aquatic life and hatcheries: clarified ownership status (private aquatic life as interstate commerce subject to state restrictions); access to state brood stock and eggs under specific conditions.
• Public waters and habitats: stronger safeguards against the introduction of nonindigenous species and disease; enhanced reporting and official approvals for stocking operations.
• State agencies: clearer division of duties between Agriculture and Natural Resources, with updated rulemaking processes and a dedicated funding mechanism for aquaculture activities.

Implementation Considerations

• Administrative transition: The bill sets up a transfer of duties and a phased approach to renumbering and cross-references, with some non-transfer of personnel and other transitional details to be resolved.
• Compliance burden: Operators may need to adopt new recordkeeping, reporting, and testing practices, including timely submission of bills of lading and health data.

Relevant Terms - aquaculture, aquatic farms, private aquatic life, nonindigenous species, exotic species, disease pathogens, VHS (viral hemorrhagic septicemia), VHS-susceptible species, walleyes, salmonids, catfish - Commissioner of Agriculture, Commissioner of Natural Resources, authority and enforcement - best management practices, wetlands, manmade ponds - license, license classifications, licensing fees - conservation officers, inspections, written reason for inspection, presence during inspections - bill of lading, intrastate transport, stocking waters, public waters, watershed - regional fisheries manager, telecopied notices, filed forms - Fish Health Blue Book, Diagnostic Manual for Aquatic Animal Diseases (OIE) - fish health inspector, lab, accredited veterinarian, fish health certificate - brood stock, brood stock development, game fish brood stock, native rough fish brood stock - eggs, fry, egg harvest, sale or barter of eggs/fry - stocking approval, State Highway 210 - Aquaculture Account, Agricultural Fund, Game and Fish Fund Aquaculture Account - rulemaking, Minnesota Aquaculture Commission - cross-references, renumbering, repeal of 97C.211 subdivision 5, repeal of Minnesota Rules part 6250.0101