The National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (P.L. 96-362, as amended) is intended to promote and support the development of private aquaculture and to ensure coordination among the various federal agencies that have aquaculture programs and policies. It provided for a national aquaculture policy, including a formal National Aquaculture Development Plan; established a Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture on which officials of USDA, Commerce, the Interior, and nine other federal agencies sit; designated USDA as the lead agency for coordination; and authorized the National Aquaculture Information Center within the National Agricultural Library.[1][2] The S. 1650 legislation was passed by the 96th U.S. Congressional session and signed into law by the 39th President of the United States Jimmy Carter on September 26, 1980