Southern California Aquaculture Opportunity Area

The NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region is publishing a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the proposed identification of one or more Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) to be located in Federal waters off the coast of Southern California. The proposed action is a planning action and does not include any activity that would require a permit or authorization as part of planning. NOAA Fisheries requests comments concerning the scope of the proposed action, its potential impacts to the natural and human environment, means for avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating potential impacts, the range of preliminary alternatives proposed in this notice, and any additional reasonable alternatives that should be considered within the Southern California Bight. Stakeholders are encouraged to submit written comment electronically by searching Docket # NOAA-NMFS-2022-0051 through www.regulations.gov before July 22, 2022, or to provide oral comments during the two virtual public scoping meetings held June 27 or July 11, 2022. Please visit the AOA public scoping comment event page for more information on how to submit.