S622

Sponsored by:

Senator BOB SMITH

District 17 (Middlesex and Somerset)

Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN

District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)

Co-Sponsored by:

Senators Testa, Polistina, Tiver and Amato

SYNOPSIS

Directs Department of Agriculture to advertise and promote State aquaculture products through Jersey Fresh Program; establishes annual $25,000 appropriation.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

An Act concerning the promotion of aquaculture products through the Jersey Fresh Program, supplementing Title 4 of the Revised Statutes, and making an appropriation.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. a. The department, as part of the Jersey Fresh Program, shall advertise and promote aquaculture products, the quality of which complies with standards adopted by the department and is verified thereby through the use of an appropriate quality grading system. The department shall develop and implement an appropriate quality grading system specific to the grading of aquaculture products, as distinguished from wild-caught seafood products, which system shall be consistent with, and similar to, the quality grading system that is used, by the department, to grade the quality of other agricultural commodities for the purposes of the Jersey Fresh Program.

b. In addition to any monies appropriated or allocated to the Jersey Fresh Program, in each fiscal year following the effective date of this act, there shall be annually appropriated, from the General Fund to the Department of Agriculture, $25,000 for the sole purpose of facilitating the department’s advertisement and promotion of aquaculture products, under the Jersey Fresh Program, as provided by subsection a. of this section.

c. As used in this section:

“Aquaculture product” means fish or shellfish that is produced in the State, or in State waters, through means of aquaculture, as defined by section 3 of the “New Jersey Aquaculture Development Act,” P.L.1997, c.236 (C.4:27-3).

“Department” means the Department of Agriculture.

“Jersey Fresh Program” means the agricultural commodity marketing and quality grading program established by the department pursuant to R.S.4:10-6, P.L.1971, c.308 (C.4:10-43 et seq.), and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.

2. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill requires the Department of Agriculture to advertise and promote aquaculture products as part of the Jersey Fresh Program. The Jersey Fresh Program is the marketing and quality grading program that is currently used, by the department, to advertise and promote the availability of fruit and vegetable agricultural commodities that have been produced in the State and graded for quality. This bill would expand the Jersey Fresh Program to additionally include marketing for fish and shellfish that are produced in the State, or in State waters, through means of aquaculture, and the quality of which complies with standards adopted by the department and is verified thereby through the use of an appropriate quality grading system. The bill would require the department to develop and implement a quality grading system that is specific to the grading of aquaculture products, as distinguished from wild-caught seafood products, which system is to be consistent with, and similar to, the quality grading system that is used, by the department, to grade the quality of other agricultural commodities for the purposes of the Jersey Fresh Program.

The bill provides an initial appropriation of $100,000 for the bill’s purposes, and it additionally provides for an annual appropriation of $100,000 to be made in each fiscal year after the bill’s effective date, in order to facilitate the ongoing marketing and promotion of aquaculture products under the Jersey Fresh Program. The monies made available under the bill would be in addition to any other monies that may be appropriated or allocated to the Jersey Fresh Program.