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2017 Op. Mich. Att'y Gen. 1 (2017)

handle is hein.sag/sagmi0142 and id is 1 raw text is: 







STATE OF MICHIGAN


                        BILL SCHUETTE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

 MICHIGAN AQUACULTURE                     Aquaculture not permitted in the Michigan
 DEVELOPMENT ACT:                         waters of the Great Lakes.

 FISH AND GAME:

 GREAT LAKES:

 Only operations that meet the definition of an aquaculture facility under the Michigan Aquaculture
Development Act, 1996 PA 199, MCL 286.871 et seq., may be registered to engage in aquaculture in the
State of Michigan. Under the Act, an aquaculture operation in the Michigan waters of the Great Lakes could
not be registered to engage in aquaculture because the operation would not meet the current definition of an
aquaculture facility since the Michigan waters of the Great Lakes are not privately controlled waters as
defined in the Act.

Opinion No. 7293

January 4, 2017

The Honorable Wayne A. Schmidt
State Senator
The Capitol
Lansing, MI 48909


You have asked whether aquaculture is legal in the Michigan waters of the Great Lakes
under current law.

By way of background, there has been increased interest in raising fish for commercial
purposes in the Michigan waters of the Great Lakes. Fish farming, or aquaculture as it is
described in Michigan law, is permitted in this State in privately controlled waters under the
Michigan Aquaculture Development Act, 1996 PA 199, MCL 286.871 et seq.L4j In larger
bodies of water, aquaculture is often practiced through the use of net pens - underwater nets
or solid-structure cages - that function as pens within which to raise fish. 2 These net pens
are anchored to the bottom of the body of water, and may float in close proximity to the shore
or be located further off shore and reachable by boat.L3

The Michigan Aquaculture Development Act defines aquaculture as: the commercial
husbandry of aquaculture species on the approved list of aquaculture species,4 including, but
not limited to, the culturing, producing, growing, using, propagating, harvesting,
transporting, importing, exporting, or marketing of aquacultural products under an
appropriate permit or registration. MCL 286.872(b). Aquaculture is considered an
agricultural enterprise and is part of the farming and agriculture industry of this state.
MCL 286.874(1).

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