Government Agencies

• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing
  
  DACS Bureau of Seafood and Aquaculture Marketing is charged with increasing and maintaining the economic base of Florida's seafood and aquaculture industries.  Their site provides research reports on marketing specific seafood and aquaculture species, promotion materials, wholesale suppliers directory, trade leads, financial assistance, and the Source Directory, which is a buyer's guide to Florida seafood and aquaculture products.
• Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture
  DACS Division of Aquaculture is the state regulatory authority for Florida aquaculture.  The Division presumes sole responsibility for collecting feeds, approving aquaculture applications, completing annual inspections ensuring compliance with Best Management Practices (BMPs) and classifying coastal waters for shellfish harvesting.  The Division provides information regarding Florida's aquaculture farms, shellfish handling, shellfish harvesting, shellfish harvesting daily status, red tide, weather, water quality, and public meetings/current events.
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
  FWC is the state agencies charged with managing fish and wildlife resources for their long-term well-being and the benefit of people.
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute--Red Tide Site
  FMRI's red tide site lists current harmful algal bloom conditions around the state of Florida.  Red tide occurrences are summarized and sampling results mapped.  Current and past regional status reports are also provided.
• Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference
  ISSC is an organization of federal agencies, state agencies, and industries involved in regulating molluscan shellfish commerce.  This site provides detailed information on what the ISSC is all about, current news items, and updates on the National Shellfish Sanitation Program.
• National Climatic Data Center
  NCDC serves as a national resource for climate information and is the world's largest active archive of weather data.
• National Data Buoy Center
  NDBC, through the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Weather Service, operates and maintains a network of NOAA buoy stations in marine areas and serves as the focal point for this data collection.
• National Hurricane Center, Tropical Depression Center
  NHC TPC is a division of NOAA's National Weather Service.  The Center issues watches, warnings, forecasts, and analyses of hazardous tropical weather.
• National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA Fisheries
  NOAA NMFS is a division within the US Department of Commerce.  This federal agency is responsible for the stewardship of the nation's living marine resources and their habitat.  The site's aquaculture feature contains news, announcements, information on aquaculture related programs, and links to other aquaculture commerce related sites.
• United States Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Marketing Service
  USDA AMS commodity programs oversee marketing agreements and orders, administers research and promotion programs, and purchases commodities for federal food programs.
• United States Department of Agriculture, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Veterinary Services
  USDA Veterinary Services is charged with protecting and improving the healthy, quality, and marketability of animals and animal products by preventing, controlling and/or eliminating diseases and monitoring and promoting animal health and productivity.
• United States Department of Agriculture National Aquaculture Program
  USDA APHIS programs are involved in the aquaculture through disease, pest, and wildlife damage prevention and management and has also become involved in facilitating importation and exportation in aquacultural products.
• United State Department of Agriculture Veterinary Services--International Animal Export Regulations
  This site provides the health requirements, searchable by country, for international shipments of animals, including fish.
• United States Department of Agriculture, Farm Service Agency
  USDA FSA ensures the wellbeing of American agriculture, the environment, and the American public by stabilizing farm income, helping farmers conserve land and water resources, providing credit to new or disadvantaged farmers and ranchers, and helping farm operations recover from the effects of disaster.
• United States Department of Agriculture, Risk Management Agency
  USDA RMA supports and regulates sound risk management solutions to preserve and strengthen the economic stability of America's agricultural producers.  The RMA web site contains information regarding crop insurance policies, pilot programs, participation data, insurance tools/calculators, crop weather, and agent and office locators.
• United States Food and Drug Administration, Seafood Information and Resources
  FDA is the national regulatory authority for public protection and seafood regulation.  This FDA site contains information regarding seafood regulations and enforcement, recent announcements, background information, health alerts, and federal and state programs.

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Last updated May 03, 2011