NOAA, on behalf of the National Science and Technology Council's Subcommittee on Aquaculture, is soliciting review and comment on the draft outline for a Work Plan for a Federal Aquaculture Regulatory Task Force. The 30-day comment period is open through November 8, 2019.

The draft outline lays out the components of a work plan and addresses the Federal strategic goal of improving regulatory efficiency and predictability for domestic freshwater and marine aquaculture under existing laws and regulations.

The Subcommittee on Aquaculture, previously known as the Interagency Working Group on Aquaculture and the Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture, is a statutory subcommittee that operates under the Committee on Environment of the National Science and Technology Council under the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President. It is co-chaired by the Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

The Subcommittee on Aquaculture will consider the comments received before issuing a draft work plan. Comments can be submitted electronically at federalregister.gov by searching under document citation 84 FR 54122 or through Aqua.RegPlan@noaa.gov email address. For more information on the subcommittee, the draft outline, or the task force visit www.ars.usda.gov.