International Activities 



The National Aquaculture Act of 1980 calls for arrangements with 

 foreign nations for the exchange of information on aquaculture and 

 the support of a translation service. The latter function has been 

 provided since 1979 by the JSA. The former responsibility has been 

 met in the past through bilateral aquaculture programs between one 

 or more Federal agencies and their foreign government counterparts. 

 The JSA will obtain and provide more complete dissemination of 

 information on such bilateral programs, and coordinate the 

 activities to assure that the United States receives maximum 

 benefit from information derived from these programs. The Panel 

 on Education and Technical Assistance will be responsible for 

 coordinating these activities. 



Capital Requirements 



A key element in recent public and private debates concerning the 

 need for government support of the aquaculture industry is the 

 question of whether sufficient financing is available in the 

 private sector to develop the industry or, if not, whether 

 additional government financial support is necessary. Of 

 particular importance is the question of whether or not aquaculture 

 is treated equitably by private and public financial institutions. 



In order to determine if new or specialized financial support for 

 aquaculture would be appropriate at the Federal level, the JSA 

 initiated a comprehensive and indepth examination of the capital 

 requirements of the U.S. aquaculture industry. This study involved 

 contacts with private banks. Federal Land Banks, insurance 

 companies, production credit associations, investment bankers, 

 private investors, investment banks, corporations involved in 

 aquaculture, and venture capitalists. In addition, aquaculture 

 experts, producers, university and government researchers and 

 consultants were contacted. 



The conclusion of this examination was: 



"Financing new ventures is always a difficult proposition and 

 one that raises a good deal of controversy. The promise of 

 aquaculture is so vast that it would be unfortunate indeed if 

 the capital markets proved to be a true constraint on its 

 development. The research conducted by the Wharton Applied 

 Research Center has indicated that the major obstacles to 

 growth in the culture of the four species which have reached a 

 stage where financing can be a significant issue are not 

 financial in nature. This should not be taken to imply that 

 all worthy aquaculture projects are funded, that all loans are 

 closed, or that at a time when the credit markets are in great 

 flux, financing hurdles are not severe problems for some 

 enterprises. Rather, this conclusion indicates that the 

 aquaculture industries, taken in general, face other 

 constraints to growth than the lack of financing. Policy 



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