Topic 23

53. Aquaculture should be conducted in a socially responsible manner, within national rules and regulations, having regard to the ILO-convention on labour rights, not jeopardizing the livelihood of aquaculture workers and local communities. Aquaculture contributes to rural development, enhances benefits and equity in local communities, alleviates poverty and promotes food security. As a result, socio-economic issues should be considered at all stages of aquaculture planning, development and operation.

54. The importance of corporate social responsibility from aquaculture to local communities should be recognized.

55. Workers should be treated responsibly and in accordance with national labour rules and regulations and, where appropriate, relevant ILO conventions.

56. Workers should be paid wages and provided benefits and working conditions according to national laws and regulations.

57. Child labour should not be used in a manner inconsistent with ILO conventions and international standards.

From the  International Labour Organization (ILO) website "ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work"  (ILO 1998):

The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work , adopted in 1998 and amended in 2022, is an expression of commitment by governments, employers' and workers' organizations to uphold basic human values - values that are vital to our social and economic lives. It affirms the obligations and commitments that are inherent in membership of the ILO, namely:

• freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;

• the elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labour;

• the effective abolition of child labour;

• the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation; and

• a safe and healthy working environment.

From the  National Labor Relations Board facts sheet "Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act"  (NLRB 2022):

The  National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) guarantees the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with their employers, and to engage in other protected concerted activity. Employees covered by the NLRA * are protected from certain types of employer and union misconduct. 

Under the NLRA, (workers) have the right to: 

• Bargain collectively through representatives of employees' own choosing for a contract with (their) employer setting (their) wages, benefits, hours, and other working conditions.

*The National Labor Relations Act covers most private-sector employers. Excluded from coverage under the NLRA are public-sector employees, agricultural and domestic workers, independent contractors, workers employed by a parent or spouse, employees of air and rail carriers covered by the Railway Labor Act, and supervisors (although supervisors that have been discriminated against for refusing to violate the NLRA may be covered).

From the  United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division website "Child Labor" (USDL-CL 2023):

The federal child labor provisions, authorized by the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA), also known as the child labor laws, were enacted to ensure that when young people work, the work is safe and does not jeopardize their health, well-being or educational opportunities. These provisions also provide limited exemptions.

From Safety National Safety Skills online Training "Sexual Harassment and Discrimination for Managers" (SS 2020; prepared for the College of the Florida Keys): 

Employees' right to work without fear of discrimination or harassment is ensured by several different laws. Sexual harassment and most forms of discrimination, including those based on race, sex, religion, color or national origin, are prohibited by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Additional non-discrimination laws enforced by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, or EEOC, include the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Fair Wages Act, the Age Discrimination Act, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, or GINA. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA, helps protect employees from discrimination if they report a work-related fatality, injury or illness. It also protects an employee from discrimination who files a safety or health complaint, or asks for access to their injury and illness records.

From the  United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration website "About OSHA" (USDL-OHSA 2023):

With the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to ensure safe and healthful working conditions for workers by setting and enforcing standards and by providing training, outreach, education and assistance.

National Historic Preservation Act

"They also contracted for an archaeological review and analysis report as a component of their Baseline Environmental Survey report for the benthic surveys (side scan sonar, magnetometer, and sub-bottom profile). These reports are publicly available as components of the federal permitting application." - Mythbusting Marine Aquaculture - Zajicek etal.

From "A National Strategic Plan for Aquaculture Research" prepared by the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Aquaculture (NSTC  2022):

Goal 1. Develop Economic Growth through Aquaculture

Objective 1.1: Identify market opportunities for U.S. aquaculture products

Developing new economic opportunities requires business plans that consider how products are valued by consumers and the relationship of production costs to the prices the public is willing to pay. For instance, Americans value where and how their food is produced; therefore, new aquaculture operations must consider consumer acceptance of production strategies and account for siting of operations at the national, State, local, or business levels. Tradeoff analyses for both societal goals and business goals across industry segments must be developed. There is a need for social, behavioral, and economic research on constraints and opportunities to produce and sell aquaculture products in foreign and domestic markets.

Federal research agencies must determine the best strategies for adding U.S. aquaculture production to the current seafood industry without negatively impacting fisheries, including evaluations of the entire value chain from production to consumption. Research is needed to better understand market interactions among aquaculture production, fisheries, and other food-producing sectors.

Research in the following actions will facilitate market development for U.S. aquaculture products. The agencies listed below will support or conduct R&D activities or consult with science programs to identify research priorities and form science-based policy.

• Action 1.1.1 DOC NOAA (NMFS, NOS), DOI (USFWS, USGS), EPA, and DOD (USACE) will identify policy, regulatory, social and political issues that limit opportunities for aquaculture and develop science-based information to support objective and consistent decision-making.

• Action 1.1.2 DOC NOAA (SG, NMFS), and DOE (BETO) will develop economic models for enhanced profitability (e.g., farm budgets, information needed for loans and insurance, risk management, resilience).

• Action 1.1.3 USDA (NASS), DOI (USGS), and DOC NOAA (NMFS) will collect and analyze economic information on how aquaculture complements wild harvests to supply domestic seafood (e.g., working waterfronts, seafood processing capacity, off-season support for commercial fishing).

Goal 2. Improve Aquaculture Production Technologies and Inform Decision-making

Objective 2.4: Improve engineering systems for aquaculture 

Production systems for aquaculture in the United States include pond-based systems (e.g., catfish and crawfish production); raceway systems (e.g., rainbow trout and microalgae); near-shore and offshore net-pens and cages (e.g., Atlantic salmon and marine fish); hatcheries (e.g., Pacific salmon and marine fish); intertidal, off-bottom, and long-line coastal shellfish production; freshwater and marine algae (including seaweed) production systems; and recirculation systems (e.g., aquaponics, salmon, yellow perch, tilapia, ornamental species, and oyster spat). The hatcheries and nurseries for all these types of aquaculture represent unique engineering challenges, but all production systems would benefit from advanced monitoring and control systems, labor-saving process engineering, and other specialized devices. For example, renewable energy for the operation of offshore systems could be supplied by integrated marine wind and water power technologies. 

Aquaponics, the cultivation of plants in water downstream of aquatic animal production, demonstrates the potential of integrating hydroponics with modern aquaculture systems. Further R&D in combining complementary systems may enable large-scale production of both fish and vegetables in one system. This has the potential to help revitalize rural economies and provide for local production in food deserts where access to affordable, healthy food options is limited.

Significant opportunities exist to improve the performance and productivity of aquaculture production systems through innovative engineering and new devices and technologies. There is significant potential to adapt current commercial technologies and engineering solutions from other sectors, such as municipal wastewater treatment, manufacturing, medicine, information technology, artificial intelligence, sensors, and energy, that can be integrated into aquaculture systems to improve productivity and efficiency.

The following actions will improve the efficiency and sustainability of aquaculture production systems. The agencies listed below will support or conduct R&D activities or consult with science programs to identify research priorities and form science-based policy.

• • • Action 2.4.1 USDA (ARS, NIFA), DOC NOAA (SG, NMFS), and DOI (USFWS) will support research that ensures robust aquaculture system performance at reasonable costs that maximize production potential, safety, and economic performance and reduce risk to native populations (including endangered and threatened species), while minimizing labor needs and impacts on wild organisms.

    • Action 2.4.2 USDA (ARS), DOE (BETO), and DOC NOAA (NMFS, SG) will support or conduct research that develops highly effective hatcheries and harvest and processing equipment.

    • Action 2.4.3 USDA (NIFA), DOI (USGS), and DOC NOAA (SG) will support or conduct research to develop or improve various types of specialized aquaculture systems that may be appropriate for U.S. aquaculture.

    • Action 2.4.4 DOC NOAA (SG, NMFS) and USDA (NIFA) will provide Extension Service support, test beds, and demonstration and production assistance through public-private partnerships to increase the rate of knowledge transfer from research to implementation and provide effective communication to researchers on behalf of farmers.

§ 8301  Findings. Congress finds that —

(1)  the  prevention,  detection,  control,  and  eradication  of diseases and pests of animals are essential to protect—

(C) the economic interests of the livestock and related industries of the United States;

(E) interstate commerce and foreign commerce of the United States in animals and other articles;

(5)(A) all animals and articles regulated under this chapter are in or affect interstate commerce or foreign commerce; and

(B) regulation by the Secretary and cooperation by the Secretary with foreign countries, States or other jurisdictions, or persons are necessary-

(i) to prevent and eliminate burdens on interstate commerce and foreign commerce;

(ii) to regulate effectively interstate commerce and foreign commerce; and

(iii) to protect the agriculture, environment, economy, and health and welfare of the people of the United States.

§ 152 Definitions

When used in this subchapter—

(3) The term "employee" shall include any employee, and shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer, unless this subchapter explicitly states otherwise, and shall include any individual whose work has ceased as a consequence of, or in connection with, any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice, and who has not obtained any other regular and substantially equivalent employment, but shall not include any individual employed as an agricultural laborer, or in the domestic service of any family or person at his home, or any individual employed by his parent or spouse, or any individual having the status of an independent contractor, or any individual employed as a supervisor, or any individual employed by an employer subject to the Railway Labor Act [45 U.S.C. 151 et seq.], as amended from time to time, or by any other person who is not an employer as herein defined.

§ 157 Right of employees as to organization, collective bargaining, etc.

Employees shall have the right to self-organization, to form, join, or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in other concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection, and shall also have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities except to the extent that such right may be affected by an agreement requiring membership in a labor organization as a condition of employment as authorized in section 158(a)(3) of this title.

§ 202 Congressional finding and declaration of policy

(a) The Congress finds that the existence, in industries engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, of labor conditions detrimental to the maintenance of the minimum standard of living necessary for health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers (1) causes commerce and the channels and instrumentalities of commerce to be used to spread and perpetuate such labor conditions among the workers of the several States; (2) burdens commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce; (3) constitutes an unfair method of competition in commerce; (4) leads to labor disputes burdening and obstructing commerce and the free flow of goods in commerce; and (5) interferes with the orderly and fair marketing of goods in commerce. That Congress further finds that the employment of persons in domestic service in households affects commerce.

(b) It is declared to be the policy of this chapter, through the exercise by Congress of its power to regulate commerce among the several States and with foreign nations, to correct and as rapidly as practicable to eliminate the conditions above referred to in such industries without substantially curtailing employment or earning power.

§ 206 Minimum wage

(a) Employees engaged in commerce; home workers in Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands; employees in American Samoa; seamen on American vessels; agricultural employees

Every employer shall pay to each of his employees who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, wages at the following rates:

(1) except as otherwise provided in this section, not less than-

(A) $5.85 an hour, beginning on the 60th day after May 25, 2007;

(B) $6.55 an hour, beginning 12 months after that 60th day; and

(C) $7.25 an hour, beginning 24 months after that 60th day;

(4) if such employee is employed in agriculture, not less than the minimum wage rate in effect under paragraph (1) after December 31, 1977.

(d) Prohibition of sex discrimination

(1) No employer having employees subject to any provisions of this section shall discriminate, within any establishment in which such employees are employed, between employees on the basis of sex by paying wages to employees in such establishment at a rate less than the rate at which he pays wages to employees of the opposite sex in such establishment for equal work on jobs the performance of which requires equal skill, effort, and responsibility, and which are performed under similar working conditions, except where such payment is made pursuant to (i) a seniority system; (ii) a merit system; (iii) a system which measures earnings by quantity or quality of production; or (iv) a differential based on any other factor other than sex: Provided, That an employer who is paying a wage rate differential in violation of this subsection shall not, in order to comply with the provisions of this subsection, reduce the wage rate of any employee.

§ 207 Maximum hours

(a) Employees engaged in interstate commerce; additional applicability to employees pursuant to subsequent amendatory provisions

(1) Except as otherwise provided in this section, no employer shall employ any of his employees who in any workweek is engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, or is employed in an enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce, for a workweek longer than forty hours unless such employee receives compensation for his employment in excess of the hours above specified at a rate not less than one and one-half times the regular rate at which he is employed.

§ 212 Child labor provisions

(a) Restrictions on shipment of goods; prosecution; conviction

No producer, manufacturer, or dealer shall ship or deliver for shipment in commerce any goods produced in an establishment situated in the United States in or about which within thirty days prior to the removal of such goods therefrom any oppressive child labor has been employed: Provided, That any such shipment or delivery for shipment of such goods by a purchaser who acquired them in good faith in reliance on written assurance from the producer, manufacturer, or dealer that the goods were produced in compliance with the requirements of this section, and who acquired such goods for value without notice of any such violation, shall not be deemed prohibited by this subsection: And provided further, That a prosecution and conviction of a defendant for the shipment or delivery for shipment of any goods under the conditions herein prohibited shall be a bar to any further prosecution against the same defendant for shipments or deliveries for shipment of any such goods before the beginning of said prosecution.

(b) Investigations and inspections

The Secretary of Labor or any of his authorized representatives, shall make all investigations and inspections under section 211(a) of this title with respect to the employment of minors, and, subject to the direction and control of the Attorney General, shall bring all actions under section 217 of this title to enjoin any act or practice which is unlawful by reason of the existence of oppressive child labor, and shall administer all other provisions of this chapter relating to oppressive child labor.

(c) Oppressive child labor

No employer shall employ any oppressive child labor in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce or in any enterprise engaged in commerce or in the production of goods for commerce.

(d) Proof of age

In order to carry out the objectives of this section, the Secretary may by regulation require employers to obtain from any employee proof of age.

§ 213 Exemptions

(a) Minimum wage and maximum hour requirements

The provisions of sections 206 (except subsection (d) in the case of paragraph (1) of this subsection) and 207 of this title shall not apply with respect to-

(5) any employee employed in the catching, taking, propagating, harvesting, cultivating, or farming of any kind of fish, shellfish, crustacea, sponges, seaweeds, or other aquatic forms of animal and vegetable life, or in the first processing, canning or packing such marine products at sea as an incident to, or in conjunction with, such fishing operations, including the going to and returning from work and loading and unloading when performed by any such employee; or

(6) any employee employed in agriculture (A) if such employee is employed by an employer who did not, during any calendar quarter during the preceding calendar year, use more than five hundred man-days of agricultural labor, (B) if such employee is the parent, spouse, child, or other member of his employer's immediate family, (C) if such employee (i) is employed as a hand harvest laborer and is paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece rate basis in the region of employment, (ii) commutes daily from his permanent residence to the farm on which he is so employed, and (iii) has been employed in agriculture less than thirteen weeks during the preceding calendar year, (D) if such employee (other than an employee described in clause (C) of this subsection) (i) is sixteen years of age or under and is employed as a hand harvest laborer, is paid on a piece rate basis in an operation which has been, and is customarily and generally recognized as having been, paid on a piece rate basis in the region of employment, (ii) is employed on the same farm as his parent or person standing in the place of his parent, and (iii) is paid at the same piece rate as employees over age sixteen are paid on the same farm, or (E) if such employee is principally engaged in the range production of livestock; 

(c) Child labor requirements

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) or (4), the provisions of section 212 of this title relating to child labor shall not apply to any employee employed in agriculture outside of school hours for the school district where such employee is living while he is so employed, if such employee-

(A) is less than twelve years of age and (i) is employed by his parent, or by a person standing in the place of his parent, on a farm owned or operated by such parent or person, or (ii) is employed, with the consent of his parent or person standing in the place of his parent, on a farm, none of the employees of which are (because of subsection (a)(6)(A)) required to be paid at the wage rate prescribed by section 206(a)(5) 1 of this title,

(B) is twelve years or thirteen years of age and (i) such employment is with the consent of his parent or person standing in the place of his parent, or (ii) his parent or such person is employed on the same farm as such employee, or

(C) is fourteen years of age or older.

§ 651 Congressional statement of findings and declaration of purpose and policy

(a) The Congress finds that personal injuries and illnesses arising out of work situations impose a substantial burden upon, and are a hindrance to, interstate commerce in terms of lost production, wage loss, medical expenses, and disability compensation payments.

(b) The Congress declares it to be its purpose and policy, through the exercise of its powers to regulate commerce among the several States and with foreign nations and to provide for the general welfare, to assure so far as possible every working man and woman in the Nation safe and healthful working conditions and to preserve our human resources-

(3) by authorizing the Secretary of Labor to set mandatory occupational safety and health standards applicable to businesses affecting interstate commerce, and by creating an Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission for carrying out adjudicatory functions under this chapter;

§ 662 Injunction proceedings

(a) Petition by Secretary to restrain imminent dangers; scope of order

The United States district courts shall have jurisdiction, upon petition of the Secretary, to restrain any conditions or practices in any place of employment which are such that a danger exists which could reasonably be expected to cause death or serious physical harm immediately or before the imminence of such danger can be eliminated through the enforcement procedures otherwise provided by this chapter. Any order issued under this section may require such steps to be taken as may be necessary to avoid, correct, or remove such imminent danger and prohibit the employment or presence of any individual in locations or under conditions where such imminent danger exists, except individuals whose presence is necessary to avoid, correct, or remove such imminent danger or to maintain the capacity of a continuous process operation to resume normal operations without a complete cessation of operations, or where a cessation of operations is necessary, to permit such to be accomplished in a safe and orderly manner.

Chapter 2: Animal Care and Use Program

PROGRAM MANAGEMENT

Personnel Management

Occupational Health and Safety of Personnel

Each institution must establish and maintain an occupational health and safety program (OHSP)...

PROGRAM OVERSIGHT

The Role of the IACUC

Protocol Review

The animal use protocol is a detailed description of the proposed use of laboratory animals. The following topics should be considered in the preparation of the protocol by the researcher and its review by the IACUC: ...

• rationale and purpose of the proposed use of animals

• a clear and concise sequential description of the procedures involving the use of animals that is easily understood by all members of the committee

• availability or appropriateness of the use of less invasive procedures, other species, isolated organ preparation, cell or tissue culture, or computer simulation (see Appendix A, Alternatives)

• justification of the species and number of animals proposed; whenever possible, the number of animals and experimental group sizes should be statistically justified (e.g., provision of a power analysis; see Appendix A, Experimental Design and Statistics)

• unnecessary duplication of experiments

• nonstandard housing and husbandry requirements

• impact of the proposed procedures on the animals’ well-being

• appropriate sedation, analgesia, and anesthesia (indices of pain or invasiveness might aid in the preparation and review of protocols; see Appendix A, Anesthesia, Pain, and Surgery)

• conduct of surgical procedures, including multiple operative procedures

• postprocedural care and observation (e.g., inclusion of post-treatment or postsurgical animal assessment forms)

• description and rationale for anticipated or selected endpoints

• criteria and process for timely intervention, removal of animals from a study, or euthanasia if painful or stressful outcomes are anticipated

• method of euthanasia or disposition of animals, including planning for care of long-lived species after study completion

• adequacy of training and experience of personnel in the procedures used, and roles and responsibilities of the personnel involved

• use of hazardous materials and provision of a safe working environment.

FAO. 2011. Technical Guidelines on Aquaculture Certification. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Version adopted by the 29th Session of the Committee on Fisheries (COFI), Rome, Italy. 31 January–4 February 2011. 123 p. ISBN: 978-92-5-006912-8. http://www.fao.org/3/a-i2296t.pdf 

ILO. 1998.  International Labour Organization website "ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work".  https://www.ilo.org/declaration/lang--en/index.htm; Accessed: Mar 22, 2023.

NLRB 2022.  National Labor Relations Board facts sheet "Employee Rights Under the National Labor Relations Act" https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/olms/regs/compliance/eo_posters/employeerightsposter11x17_2019final.pdf; Technical Revision Date: 05/02/22.  

NSTC.  2022. A National Strategic Plan for Aquaculture Research. Prepared by the National Science and Technology Council Subcommittee on Aquaculture. February 2022. Available at: https://www.ars.usda.gov/animal-production-and-protection/aquaculture/docs/national-strategic-plan-federal-aquaculture-research/ 

SS. 2020. Sexual Harassment and Discrimination for Managers. Safety Skills. HRM-10.2. https://inclassnow.com/courses/hrm-10.2/sexual-harassment-and-discrimination-for-managers/syllabus/   

USDL-CL. 2023. United States Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division website "Child Labor": WHD » Child Labor. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/child-labor. Accessed: Mar 22, 2023.

USDL-OHSA. 2023. United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration website "About OSHA". https://www.osha.gov/aboutosha Accessed: Mar 22, 2023.