Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I agree with Stuarts comments.

In addition, why should AP be treated any differently to aquarium, dam or pond owners? It shouldnt matter if the fish are for consumption or not. We have laws and legislation in Aus that covers all the basics derived from the Aquaculture world, surely California have similar systems in place, and if so just leave it be or in my eyes its just another money spinner. Fisheries need to control the aquarium trade before they even attempt anything with AP, and any regulations that do get put in place needs to echo across all.

In most of California, common species (white catfish, channel catfish, blue catfish, largemouth bass, bluegill, Sacramento perch, rainbow trout, red ear sunfish) can be stocked into a pond without a permit.

Details here: https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=3252

More fun bits from California's Fish Laws:


and


So, I can fish from my aquaponic system, but heaven help me if I go over the catch limit!

ROFL So are there any equipment restrictions? Like what nets you use or the like. Is the word "Pond" defined in the legislation anywhere?

Sounds like I can fish from your AP system too . Do they also grant me access or do I have to find a waterway and canoe in like here in Oregon where the state owns the water even if you pump it out of your faucet or it rains from the sky onto your land.

Water rights are totally different in the Western US than they are in the East.

Yes. Fishing with explosives is prohibited.

I've been studying business and agriculture and aquaculture for a few years now, along with now aquaponics (2 years now, not as much as I have the others). And Basically all this is is just big american businesses wanting to try to secure there claims. American legislative and executive branch listen to big businesses when they get scared or complain, after all that's whats making them and there country money and is who pays for their election campaigns and gets them re-elected. This is a common occurrence in the U.S. big companies see something that they don't like and they see it might make them loss money they try to either buy it out or get the government to get rid of it or regulate it to make it even harder to do in the first place or profit from.

Most major Aquaculture farmers were reluctant to even the look at aquaponics as something that would ever work or even catch on, they feared and hated the original idea. But now that time has past from those 40-50 years ago, and especially now that aquaponics is catching on in popularity in the commercial and backyard form. Aquaculture farmers are starting to take notice, more and more aquaponics keeps coming out somewhere on the news or school or website as the next best thing. Before it is too late aquaculture farmers want to start trying to put extra regulations on it to slow its progress and lower its profitability. Already here in the u.s. for commercial systems you need a aquaculture license, a flora license, a run-off permit(just says your not letting water leak or runoff your property, a fish transport license vehicle, and for you to even claim and say the word naturally grown or organic in the same sentence with the food you produce you need to get usda organically certified, as well as an exotic species permit if you want to grow any fish not native to your state and an additional license to transport exotic fish live, and to get an aditional license if you are going to kill and gut your fish to sell(note you can only sell be-headed fish directly to people, or sell whole to a retailer who are the only ones who can sell with a head, unless you want to pay for a retailer license)

thats about all the licenses to go legally full on aquaponics, think I might have missed a permit or 2 but I don't think so, I know for me or if your someone who has or wants shrimp/prawns or oysters/clams/mussles in your system you need an extra license to have them and sell them and another one if your going to clean and de-shell them too....

since aquaponics falls into already two categories of agriculture it already has double the regulations and now they are putting additional regulations on top of it.. at this rate aquaponics will be exactly like agriculture where farmers don't own their land don't own there own equipment and are in huge debt and have to buy literally every seed they grow or otherwise(yes you have to burn every seed you grow you can not legally use some of your grows to replenish your seeds)..

almost every license I listed is about $200 to get plus an additional $100 an acre must be renewed every year with occasional inspections.

I know for me is I were to certify a 400sq ft plot of land it would ring me up $1200 if i went all out and be organically certified.

Luckily, if you sell less than $5,000 a year, you can say you are "organic" without being certified. You still have to meet the regulations and keep records, but you can use the word "organic".

BTW If you go organic, the USDA will pay up to $750 of the certification cost.

Haven't read it, don't care to. The thing is some things should be regulated, electricity prices for example. Hobby level Aquaponics, not so much. It looks like another barrier between people and their food to me...

Everybody knows, as history has shown, which most people don't realize it either or even if you asked them or told them they wouldn't believe you...

If you control the food you control the masses!!

Out of everything else food is control!

Government knows that which is why they try their best to restrict it...

I have multiple large scale farmer friends, 20+ acres is the smallest one, and if they are ever too productive and have a good year they are payed by the government to not take the extra to market and to not harvest it or to dispose of it but for it to never reach the public.

Really smatthew? where did you read that at? thank you for the information but if you can link me or point me in the right direction much appreciated.

Rules and regulations are not inherently bad infact not having any is generally bad because sooner or later someone comes along and is dishonest or dangerous in their practices. We wouldn't need food handling regs if people all did the right thing after all.

The challenge is getting sensible regulations.

In Australia we use to have a scheme where everyone who get bees HAD to be registered as well as their hives. Upto 5 hives the cost of the permit or registration was FREE. At any time you could call the DPI up and they would come and inspect your hives for disease for FREE. Since the system was free for hobbyists and the cost for commercial apiarists reasonable and the inspections still free basically everyone registered themselves and their hives. This also meant that the Government had excellent records on the number and distribution of hives which was invaluable for the control of disease.

Due to cost cutting and user pays policy inspections cost money and the permits for commercial apiarists have gone up. Hobbyists are still allowed to keep hives but without the free inspections there is a real risk that if diseases become established in the hobbyist bee population they can act as a source of infection for the general bee population.

So for the saving of a few dollars they put at risk literally billions of dollars of agricultural production.

Correction - USDA will pay 75% of the certification cost, up to $750.

Organic Certification Cost Share Program: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/ams.fet ... re+Program

Organic under 5K Exception: http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile ... RDC5099113

Oh I am not against regulations. I do believe we need them because otherwise a lot of people would do everything they can to cut corners and make more money, more than what they already do at least. And I don't feel like typing up another 1000 words to explain my point and views so I'll leave It at that...

Thanks a million this saves me a few hundred dollars!