Saving Seafood

NOAA identifies 21,000 acres suitable for commercial aquaculture development

September 25, 2025 — NOAA Fisheries has identified 21,000 acres of ocean off the coast of California and in the Gulf of Mexico, now called the Gulf of America by the Trump Administration, that it claims would be suitable for offshore aquaculture development.

The announcement follows up on an executive order issued by U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term, which charged NOAA Fisheries with establishing 10 Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOA) by 2025. According to the order, AOAs would be sites predetermined by the government to be suitable for commercial aquaculture.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Amid economic volatility, financial challenges, U.S. seafood producers are calling for change

September 23, 2025 — Every year, more than US$100 million in federal financing programs are allocated to support U.S. aquaculture businesses. But some producers are finding that availability and meaningful access can be two different things – and they are beginning to speak out. 

It’s a seeming disconnect between government pronouncements to support the growth of U.S. aquaculture through these funding programs and the difficulties and hurdles business owners say they face when trying to access them. 

“ One of the things that’s really making it a lot more difficult is the position of NOAA,” says Robin Pearl, co-founder and president of Florida-based shrimp genetics producer American Penaeid. “And it shouldn’t be this hard and it shouldn’t be this way.” 

Pearl, who also co-founded American Mariculture (AMI), the company behind Sun Shrimp, maintains the current system governing NOAA-managed financing programs has not been responsive to the needs of seafood farmers, especially after their businesses have had to endure a global pandemic and other natural disasters.

Read the full article at Aquaculture North America

NOAA proposes allowing offshore fish farms in Gulf, Pacific

September 23, 2025 — The Trump administration plans to offer up to 21,000 acres of federal waters off Southern California and Texas for large-scale commercial aquaculture, according to a NOAA proposal for 13 “aquaculture opportunity areas” in the Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico.

The initiative — which could provide a boon to U.S. seafood production while carrying risks for traditional fishing economies and ocean environments — shifts into high gear a Trump administration policy priority embodied in two executive orders, one signed by President Donald Trump during his first term and another this spring.

The Biden administration continued the work of studying possible aquaculture projects, including releasing two draft environmental impact statements. The NOAA documents released Friday are the final environmental reviews.

Read the full article at E&E News

Aquaculture Opportunity Areas bolster America-First seafood production

September 19, 2025 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As part of NOAA’s commitment to prioritizing American seafood competitiveness, the agency has identified 13 Aquaculture Opportunity Areas totaling more than 21,000 acres in U.S. federal waters of the Gulf of America and off the coast of Southern California. These areas will strengthen the nation’s seafood industry, reduce reliance on foreign imports, and create high-quality American jobs.

Today’s release of two final programmatic environmental impact statements for the Gulf of America and Southern California identifies prime locations that may be suitable for developing multiple commercial aquaculture projects, fulfilling President Trump’s 2020 Executive Order “Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth” and supporting the 2025 Executive Order “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness”. These orders champion a robust, America-first seafood industry that puts U.S. workers and consumers first.

Each year, Americans eat roughly $15 billion in seafood farmed and imported from foreign countries, where labor and environmental standards often fall short of America’s rigorous standards. By expanding domestic aquaculture to complement wild-harvest fisheries, NOAA is driving an America-first approach that creates jobs, supports coastal communities, and ensures  high-quality, homegrown seafood for American families.

“The U.S. leads the world in aquaculture science and technology, yet we rank 20th globally in marine aquaculture production,” said Eugenio Piñeiro Soler, acting assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA Fisheries assistant administrator. “By growing our domestic aquaculture industry, we will strengthen American health, create good-paying jobs, and drive sustainable, long-term economic growth for our nation.”

The final documents released today are grounded in 19 scientific support products and incorporate robust public input, building on draft documents released last year. These efforts reflect NOAA’s commitment to transparency and American-driven decision-making.

In Southern California, NOAA experts identified 10 prime locations for potential aquaculture development –  eight in the Santa Barbara Channel and two in Santa Monica Bay – ranging from 500 to 2,000 acres, totaling 16,500 acres. NOAA found these areas may be suitable for seaweed, shellfish, and finfish aquaculture.

In the Gulf of America, three locations off the coast of Texas were identified, each ranging in size from 500 to 2,000 acres, totaling 4,500 acres. NOAA found these areas may be suitable for seaweed, shellfish, and finfish aquaculture. NOAA is also investing in baseline environmental surveys in the Gulf to provide valuable data to prospective farm applicants.

The Aquaculture Opportunity Areas will be finalized with two decision documents following this announcement. The selected areas are just the beginning of unlocking the vast potential for aquaculture in U.S. waters, paving the way for more jobs, thriving coastal economies, and an increased abundance of high-quality American-raised seafood on Americans’ plates.

More information on the final PEISs for Southern California and the Gulf of America is available on the NOAA Fisheries website. 

In effort to expand American fish farming, New Hampshire marine biologist joins congressional push

September 3, 2025 — Mike Coogan has been doing aquaculture, or fish farming, formally for over a decade. Informally — through at-home hobby fish tanks and aquariums — he’s been doing it much longer.

Now, he’s joined a legislative effort to streamline the regulatory process for aquaculture to help create a U.S. industry.

Coogan is a researcher at the University of New Hampshire, where he works on the school’s AquaFort, a pilot project where researchers are growing steelhead trout in the mouth of the Piscataqua River near New Castle.

“We have a tiny, tiny coastline, just 18 miles,” he said of the Granite State. “But we do a lot of interesting work, and have been sort of leaders in offshore aquaculture or open ocean aquaculture for the last 25 and change years.”

The fish farm uses a method called multitrophic aquaculture, which means they grow different species together, in small 20-by-20-foot underwater cages with 15-foot nets, Coogan said. They line the perimeter of the farm with sugar kelp and blue mussels to create “a biological curtain” to absorb nutrients and prevent disease. UNH is the only university growing fish in the ocean, he said.

That fish farm and others like it are far from a large-scale industry though. Aquaculture produces only 7% of domestic seafood in the U.S., according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Roughly 70% to 85% of seafood in the U.S. is imported, and it’s estimated half of that comes from aquaculture, per the NOAA. Aquaculture in the U.S. largely consists of catfish farms across the South. In New England, oysters and other shellfish are farmed. Coogan said the New Hampshire oyster farms are limited, with only a little over a dozen operating in Great Bay and Little Bay near Portsmouth and estuaries near Hampton.

Read the full article at News From The States

FLORIDA: Is seaweed aquaculture the next big crop for Florida?

August 28, 2025 — Florida’s coastline may one day host more than oysters, clams, fish and shrimp. Researchers at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) and Florida Sea Grant are asking whether seaweed could be the state’s next big sustainable crop.

The effort, launched last year with a $250,000 grant from NOAA’s National Sea Grant Aquaculture Program, brings together scientists, industry partners and Extension agents to answer whether seaweed is a good fit for Florida. The findings could pave the way for a thriving seaweed farming industry much like it serves as a high-value crop in regions in Europe and the Americas.

Led by Ashley Smyth, an associate professor of soil, water and ecosystem sciences at the UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center, the project team shared updates recently that sparked strong interest from researchers, aquaculture professionals and entrepreneurs in exploring the feasibility and economic potential of seaweed farming in Florida.

“Seaweed aquaculture has tripled over the past two decades — with Asia producing nearly all the supply — and it’s one of the fastest-growing commodity sectors globally,” said Angela Collins, Florida Sea Grant assistant Extension scientist specializing in marine fisheries and shellfish aquaculture at the UF/IFAS Tropical Aquaculture Lab and a co-principal investigator on the project.

Smyth explained that the research focuses on the potential and the

practical limits of cultivating seaweed in Florida’s warm waters.

“Seaweed acts like a sponge, pulling excess nitrogen out of the water,” she said. “If harvested, it removes that nitrogen completely, which means it could serve as both a product for growers and a tool for improving water quality.”

Florida’s unique environment presents opportunities and unknowns.

Read the full article at the University of Florida

Seafood Expo Global launching aquaculture innovation pavilion

August 28, 2025 — Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global is launching a new aquaculture innovation pavilion.

The pavilion will debut during the next edition of the trade show, running from 21 to 23 April 2026 at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Vía venue in Barcelona, Spain. According to event organizer Diversified, the pavilion is intended to connect newer companies related to aquaculture technology with the global seafood industry. [Editor’s note: Diversified owns and operates SeafoodSource.]

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

With Wild Fish Stocks Dwindling, Congress Considers Backing Aquaculture

August 22, 2025 — Advocates for increasing Hawaiʻi’s aquaculture production are buoyed by the introduction of federal legislation that could supercharge the almost $2 billion national fish farming industry, a sector many believe has been neglected by state authorities for too long.

The bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaiʻi, intends to streamline permitting, build the aquaculture workforce, facilitate research and development, and eventually pave the way for offshore, commercial-level demonstration facilities across federal waters.

The draft Marine Aquaculture Research for America Act, or MARA Act, aims to boost production throughout the country to lessen the nation’s reliance on imported products, which account for 75% to 90% of its seafood — and 63% in Hawaiʻi. The legislation is a streamlined revival of a previously failed bill, although aquaculture industry leaders say it may now be primed for success.

Read the full article at Civil Beat

MAINE: The future is now: Salmon aquaculture embraces precision farming

August 21, 2025 — From afar, the series of 100-meter rings that constitute an Atlantic salmon farm site in the Gulf of Maine appear unchanged since the transition from steel cages to high-density polyethylene pens in the late 1990s and early 2000s. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Atlantic salmon aquaculture has been practiced in Maine since the late 1970s and early 1980s, with the first commercial lease being issued by the Maine Department of Marine Resources for a farm site in Cobscook Bay near Eastport in 1982. The industry has evolved and modernized tremendously since then, with the adoption of precision farming defining the last 20 years or so.

So what is precision farming? Also known as precision agriculture, precision farming refers to the use of advanced technologies and data analysis to optimize farming practices. Farmers who embrace precision farming, in theory, increase efficiency and productivity and minimize environmental impact.

For aquatic farmers, that translates to more precise and scalable ways to feed fish and to monitor fish health and growth, ocean conditions and water quality.

Cooke USA has been farming Atlantic salmon in Maine since 2004, celebrating 20 years of aquaculture operations in the state last year. Today, Cooke USA’s operations consist of marine farm sites in Downeast Maine, a processing plant in Machiasport, and three land-based freshwater hatcheries in both the eastern and western parts of Maine. Its fresh farmed Atlantic salmon is sold at supermarkets and restaurants throughout New England and the United States.

It was around the early 2000s that the company, and the industry by and large, began embracing precision farming. It’s what a passerby on a boat or an onlooker from the shore can’t see that’s revolutionizing Atlantic salmon aquaculture in Maine and globally — hardware such as underwater cameras and sensors, which have been used for years, and the AI-enable software behind the hardware.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News