Aquaculture Review Council

The Aquaculture Review Council was created by Florida statute to provide a means of communication between the aquaculture industry and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

The council consists of eight members: the aquaculture representative on the State Agriculture Advisory Council and seven additional members appointed by the Commissioner of Agriculture. These seven members represent the industry groups and include an alligator farmer, a food fish farmer, a shellfish farmer, a tropical fish farmer, an aquatic plant farmer, a representative of the commercial fishing industry and a representative of the aquaculture industry at large.

Responsibilities

The Aquaculture Review Council (ARC) meets at least quarterly. It is the responsibility of the ARC to recommend rules and policies governing the aquaculture industry to the Commissioner of Agriculture. The ARC annually submits a list of recommendations for short-term research projects designed to address research priorities identified in the state aquaculture plan. It reviews and discusses problems that act as barriers to the growth and development of aquaculture and has been key in the continued growth of the aquaculture industry in Florida.

Council Members

• Geno Evans, Chair: Food Fish
• Allen Register, Vice-Chair: Alligators
• Marty Tanner: State Agriculture Advisory Committee
• Heath Davis: Commercial Fishing
• Carlos Martinez: At Large
• Pierre LePochat: Aquatic Plants
• Curtis Hemmel: Shellfish
• John Skidmore: Tropical Fish