Aquaculture -- the science and art of growing aquatic species in controlled or selected environments -- has only recently been pursued on a commercial basis. With United States fisheries resources already being harvested at or near maximum sustainable yield levels, aquaculture provides a means of meeting demand for seafood and shellfish in a world of declining supply. California's coastal aquaculture industry offers an environmentally compatible supplementary means of satisfying this demand. The Golden State's regulatory hurdles make the process of establishing aquaculture ventures time consuming and expensive. The objective of this study was to determine costs imposed by regulatory permit procedures on California's coastal aquaculture industry and to assess the effect of these costs on the development of the State's aquaculture industry. The analysis reconstructed permit experiences through field interviews, which were then confirmed with permitting agencies. The study depicts the time-consuming, expensive and uncertain regulatory process for entitling fish farming businesses. Variables influencing time and cost include the cultured organism, the technique employed, the facility site, and the year that the development was initiated. The patchwork quilt of governmental agencies that regulate aquaculture, with little or no coordination among each, raises the risk profile of an investment in a new aquaculture venture. Costs related to the permitting process discourage small-scale aquaculture ventures, leading to the conclusion that a venture's scalability is a key factor to determining whether an aquaculture business will succeed or fail. The author recommends that the Federal Government, the State of California, and local jurisdictions act to streamline regulatory reviews if California is to steward its coastal resources into a sustainable and environmentally responsible aquaculture industry.