Originally Posted By: Cecil Baird1
JKB,

Sadly I doubt it will blow over. The government (APHIS) will have to admit they were wrong and they just don't do that.


I'm not so sure. Being in WV, we don't have the issues our friends have in states that touch the great lakes. Additionally, several years ago, we got aquaculture, including all private waters in the state, moved from under the jurisdiction of the Dept. Of Natural Resources to the Dept of Agriculture. They have a whole different outlook on how things get done and regulated. This year we will be co-hosting/co-sponsoring what has been the WV Aquaculture Association conference and workshops with Pennsylvania Agriculture.

This year I was successful in getting noncommercial aquaculture added to the program. Thus, in addition to all of our commercial workshops, we will be having two days of sessions much like those at Pond Boss.

Most years we have a number of legislators and regulators attending. I feel we've made a lot of positive strides in the last few years. We've cut out a lot of onerous regulations. I'm not a lobbyist, but I think I'll be spending a lot of 2013 working with the state government to improve aquaculture regulations. I feel that WV is far ahead of many of our neighboring states. As simple as it might be, I can now add grass carp to my ponds without a permit as long as I purchase them from a supplier certified by WV.

Ken

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