Aquaculture

July 13, 2022 – Online webinar Around the globe, advances in science and technology have enabled a thriving, environmentally sound, and sustainable marine aquaculture industry. Join us to learn how a stable regulatory framework with strong environmental safeguards, combined with the use of best practices, research, and innovation, can guide the U.S. towards a more sustainable future for fisheries. Speakers: Jesse Trushenski, PhD Chief Science Officer, Riverence Bjørn Sørgård Partner, Haavind, Oslo, Norway Bryton Shang Founder and CEO, Aquabyte Heidi Alleway, PhD Global Aquaculture Science Lead, The Nature Conservancy, Adelaide, Australia Dick Jones CEO, Blue Ocean Mariculture, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Seth Theuerkauf, PhD Science Coordinator, Office of Aquaculture, NOAA Fisheries  

(Letter sent to all U.S. Senators) February 14, 2022 United States Senate Constitution Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator, We write to request your support for increasing U.S. production of healthful, sustainable, and affordable seafood through marine aquaculture. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Reps. Ed Case (D-HI) and Steve Palazzo (R-MS) have introduced an updated version of the “Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act” or the “AQUAA Act”. This bipartisan bill establishes a process for permitting marine aquaculture in federal waters and institutes a clear set of National Standards that preserve existing environmental safeguards and minimize impacts to existing ocean-based industries. While aquaculture supplies over 50% of seafood globally and is the fastest growing food sector in the world, it is still an untapped industry in the United States. The U.S. imports 90% of the seafood we eat and ranks 16th in production of farmed seafood. As a result, our seafood trade deficit is $14 billion and growing. Expanding American aquaculture production can help close this gap with the added economic benefits of job creation, investment in coastal communities, expanded markets for wild-caught seafood and new markets for American-farmed feed ingredients like soybeans, corn, and peas. A doubling of U.S. aquaculture production could create an additional 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, including in coastal communities, on farms and in emerging technology fields. Further there is a growing demand for seafood among American consumers, and the AQUAA Act will ensure that the U.S. can meet that demand without depending upon overseas suppliers, which often reside in countries with relaxed or non-existent environmental regulations. Through marine aquaculture, the U.S. can increase sources of healthful and fully traceable seafood protein providing food security for American consumers, who are increasingly focused on access to local food, traceability, sustainability, and affordability when making purchasing decisions. Over the past 30 years, management practices and scientific innovation have reduced, eliminated, or minimized many of the environmental risks at responsibly managed farms.1 The AQUAA Act includes a national plan to identify and establish areas particularly well-suited for aquaculture, known as Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs). NOAA is already leading the charge in identifying the most suitable areas in the exclusive economic zones for aquaculture development. Using the best available science and collaboration with ocean use stakeholders, identifying AOAs is an opportunity to use the best global science and guidance on sustainable aquaculture management to support the “triple bottom line” of environmental, economic, and social sustainability. In conjunction with the AQUAA Act the efforts of NOAA will help build out a sustainable US aquaculture sector slowly over time, which is a key factor in encouraging environmental sustainability. Providing a comprehensive, predictable regulatory framework is critical to build a stronger, more resilient seafood sector supported by both well managed sustainable aquaculture and wild fisheries. The AQUAA Act would provide that framework, supporting American jobs, increasing food security, and ensuring consumer demand is met with sustainably produced U.S. seafood. We urge you to reach out to Sens. Wicker, Schatz and Rubio and Reps. Palazzo and Case to learn more about the AQUAA Act and the numerous benefits of an increased domestic production of healthful, sustainable, affordable seafood. Together we can build it here, and we can build it right. Reference 1 Hall, S. J., A. Delaporte, M. J. Phillips, M. Beveridge, and M. O’Keefe. 2011. Blue Frontiers: Managing the Environmental Costs of Aquaculture. TheWorldFishCenter, Penang, Malaysia. Sincerely,

The American Fisheries Society (AFS) supports sustainable growth of aquaculture. The demand for fish is expected to grow significantly in the next decade, but it is unlikely that capture fisheries can sustainably accommodate increased harvest pressure to meet this demand. Domestic freshwater and marine aquaculture present existing and emerging opportunities to sustainably address America’s ongoing dependence on imported seafood, while relieving local pressures on wild stocks and impacts on aquatic ecosystems and waterfront communities. AFS calls for a clear, predictable, regulatory framework that will enable industry growth in a conscientious, environmentally sustainable manner. Further, we call for continued, consistent investments in research to understand effects of aquaculture development on fisheries and aquatic resources, and innovation to minimize negative environmental and social impacts of fish cultivation. U.S. policymakers must address the future of our seafood supply and food insecurity. Seafood demand in the U.S. has grown steadily, driven by increases in both population and per capita seafood consumption[1]. Yet, capture fisheries landings have not increased appreciably for 30 years. The anticipated impacts on wild fish populations from climate change make it less likely that wild stocks will be able to withstand additional harvest pressure. Worldwide, fish farming has overtaken wild harvest of fish as the leading source of seafood, producing nearly 80 million metric tons in 2016[2]. Today, the majority of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported and more than half is farm-raised. Enabling expansion of the marine aquaculture industry in the USA would increase domestic seafood supplies in accordance with strong environmental, food safety, and labor standards and protections. While finfish and shellfish culture has supported traditional communities and working waterfronts in state waters for more than a century in the U.S., offshore finfish aquaculture has not kept pace. By establishing a clear and predictable legal and regulatory structure for marine aquaculture in the U.S., we can reduce the overreliance on seafood imports and improve seafood security with wholesome, domestically farmed seafood that minimizes the environmental and social footprint of the industry on our marine habitat and resources. Implementation of best practices and improvements has already reduced environmental impacts substantially (e.g., reduced use of fish meal and oil in feeds, siting tools to minimize user conflicts and effects of discharge, improved biosecurity practices and strict veterinary oversight of therapeutant use), and ongoing innovation will continue to reduce the environmental footprint of fish farming. Furthermore, existing law and regulatory frameworks in the U.S. ensure aquaculture operations are held to high standards with respect to environmental impacts. Healthy wild fisheries and responsible marine aquaculture can and must coexist if we are to feed ourselves and still fulfill our commitment to wild fish and wild places. [1] FAOSTAT.  2020.  Food Supply – Livestock and Fish Primary Equivalent.  Database.  Available:  http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/CL (4 May 2020). [2] FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization).  2018.  State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture.  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome.  Available: http://www.fao.org/state-of-fisheries-aquaculture (4 May 2020).

Capitol Hill Ocean Week presented an opportunity for AFS to bring congressional staffers and environmental organizations together for “Mythbusting Marine Aquaculture,” a science-focused briefing in the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center on June 6.  The briefing featured five experts in various aquaculture disciplines to highlight the advances in science, technology, and best management practices that have reduced the environmental footprint and increased the sustainability of marine aquaculture. Experts challenged outdated perceptions on the use of antibiotics, sustainability of using fish meal and fish oils for feeds, water quality impacts and degradation of the seafloor, effect of fish escapes on wild stocks, and the potential transfer of disease from farmed to wild populations in marine aquaculture. These myths have limited the social acceptance and complicated efforts to advance federal legislation to simplify the regulatory landscape for offshore aquaculture. Speakers included aquaculture experts Craig Watson, University of Florida; Guillaume Salze, Ph.D., Ajinomoto Animal Nutrition;  Mike Rust, Ph.D., NOAA Fisheries; Jennifer Molloy, US EPA; and Halley Froehlich, Ph.D., University of California Santa Barbara. Learn more about the advances in technology and best management practices here and view AFS President Jesse Trushenski’s opening remarks here.  

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AFS President Jesse Trushenski’s recorded introduction to an AFS and NOAA Capitol Hill briefing on “Mythbusting Marine Aquaculture” on June 6, 2019. Jesse Trushenski’s Introduction to a Capitol Hill Briefing on “Mythbusting Marine Aquaculture” from fisheries on Vimeo.