August 12, 2020 — As states work to carefully reopen and people are dining outside during this pandemic, seafood is a summer delicacy that’s in high demand at America’s restaurants. Despite that demand, our nation must rely on other countries for plentiful supplies of seafood. In fact, the United States imports 90% of its seafood consumption.
Offshore aquaculture (the process of cultivating seafood in pens submerged in the ocean through sustainable, science-based method) is successfully producing salmon, shellfish, tilapia — you name it. But it’s all happening overseas. There are hundreds of seafood, aqua feed, and aquaculture industry operations from California to Kansas to Maine, just waiting for the chance to produce American-made fish.
The barriers are clear. We do not have a regulated industry in the U.S. because of the lack of a clear permitting process. We must move to support the creation of a policy framework with which to operate offshore aquaculture farms in U.S. waters. The recent executive order on seafood competitiveness from the White House, which supports the expansion of aquaculture, and the introduction of a bill in the House of Representatives in March to establish a predictable regulatory framework and national standards for aquaculture production are two great first steps. Now, we urge the Senate to help pave the way for U.S.-farmed seafood.