Saving Seafood

Aquaculture can help produce more US seafood

August 8, 2025 — Demand for sustainable protein is on the rise, but the U.S. already harvests the sustainable limit of wild-caught seafood. Our solution is to import up to 85 percent of our seafood — half of that sourced from fish farms in other countries.

So why aren’t we instead eating seafood from sustainable American fish farms in our own deep ocean waters?

Members of Congress have proposed a solution to tackle the chief obstacle to American open ocean aquaculture. The bipartisan Marine Aquaculture Research for America Act of 2025, introduced by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), would help create a pathway for open ocean aquaculture in America by establishing an assessment program to evaluate commercial-scale demonstration projects in federal waters.

Open ocean aquaculture is supported by the nation’s most influential environmental groups, but to date, not a single commercial-scale finfish farm operates in U.S. federal waters. Recently, a small, single-pen demonstration farm proposed off the coast of Florida was the first offshore project to receive a permit after being mired in the permitting process for more than seven years.

The project, which has federal grant funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, still faces more regulatory hurdles ahead before it is fully approved to enter the water.

Read the full article at The Hill

Senate passes Alabama-backed bill to block illegal red snapper and tuna imports into the U.S.

July 18, 2025 — A bill aimed at protecting local fishermen from illegally caught fish being sold in the U.S., passed the Senate with the support of both senators from Alabama.

The Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act, co-sponsored by Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), instructs the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create a standard method of identifying the country of origin for red snapper and some species of tuna that is imported into the United States.

Read the full article at WHNT

Stronger America Through Seafood sends letter to Congress in support of AQUAA Act

February 14, 2022 — Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) has sent a letter signed by more than 65 supporters of aquaculture – including leaders in the U.S. seafood harvesting, production, and retail sectors – to Congress, requesting support for aquaculture expansion in the U.S.

The letter, sent on Monday, 14 February to both the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, calls for support for the “Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act,” or “AQUAA Act.” An updated version of the AQUAA Act was recently introduced by U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Marco Rubio (R-Florida); and U.S. Representatives Ed Case (D-Hawaii) and Steve Palazzo (R-Mississippi).

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Bill Reboot: The AQUAA Act is back

December 16, 2021 — In October, a trio of senators reintroduced the AQUAA Act, seeking to revise federal oversight and regulation of large-scale offshore aquaculture. Now the act is paired to dance with a House companion, brought to the floor courtesy of Reps. Stephen Palazzo (R-Miss.) and Edward Case (D-Hawaii) on Tuesday, Dec. 14.

The Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act was last introduced by Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) shortly after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals confirmed NMFS’s lack of jurisdiction over aquaculture leases in the Gulf of Mexico, upholding a 2018 district court ruling.

“Had Congress intended to give [NMFS] the authority to create an entirely new regulatory permitting scheme for aquaculture operations, it would have said more than ‘harvesting,’” wrote U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo in the ruling that favored fishing, environmental and public interest groups who filed the suit against the federal government to fight an expansion of NMFS’ reach into aquaculture.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Federal aquaculture bill refiled in US Senate for third time since 2018

November 1, 2021 — Three U.S. senators have reintroduced legislation that would open the door for expanded aquaculture in American waters.

U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Marco Rubio (R-Florida) are the initial sponsors behind S. 3100, the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act. The bill would create federal regulations for fish farms established in the country’s exclusive economic zone.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

AQUAA Act Reintroduced in Congress; Bill Aims to Create Standards for U.S. Offshore Aquaculture

October 29, 2021 — U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Brian Schatz, (D-HI), and Marco Rubio, (R-FL) reintroduced the AQUAA Act which aims to create national standards for offshore aquaculture in the U.S.

The bill was first introduced in September of 2020, with the Senators describing the Act as a complement to former President Donald Trump’s May 2020  Executive Order, “Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth.” The EO focuses on the development of a domestic offshore aquaculture industry which will help create a sustainable seafood source and allow the country to rely more on its own resources.

More specifically, the bill would designate NOAA as the lead agency for marine aquaculture. It would also direct NOAA to “harmonize the permitting system for offshore aquaculture for farms in federal waters, and direct the agency to lead a research and development grant program to spur innovation throughout the industry.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

 

Senators Reintroduce National Ocean Exploration Act

February 25, 2021 — The following was released by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation:

U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., ranking member and chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, along with Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, yesterday reintroduced the National Ocean Exploration Act. The bill would authorize the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council, update national priorities for ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization, and direct the Council to coordinate and facilitate activities across federal and non-federal entities to advance those priorities.

“We need to improve the way we map, explore, and characterize the deep seas,” said Wicker. “This bill would serve as a catalyst for new underwater discoveries. It would make important information available through multi-sector partnerships and ensure the ocean remains a valuable source of American prosperity.”

“This bill will elevate ocean science at NOAA and across federal agencies, it will renew a focus on mapping and ocean research, and it will allow for innovative partnerships and cooperative agreements to expand our ocean exploration efforts,” said Cantwell. “NOAA’s Ocean Exploration Program supports Pacific Northwest research from mapping the Arctic to facilitate shipping, tourism and commerce, to exploring the biological and cultural importance of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.”

“With Alaska’s vast coastline and our changing climate, the responsible exploration, stewardship, and development of our nation’s oceans is as important as ever,” said Murkowski. “I’m proud to join in sponsoring this broad legislation to establish a robust national ocean exploration program designed to modernize and move forward nationwide priorities for ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization. This comprehensive bill reauthorizes key NOAA programs that support ocean and coastal mapping, hydrographic surveys, and spatial data collection. It also includes funding increases that will allow the federal government to continue investing in this critical work. For a state as undermapped as Alaska, sustained federal attention and investment into ocean mapping will be absolutely imperative to close the charting backlog in the Arctic and bring our spatial datasets into the 21st century. Alongside my and Senator Whitehouse’s BLUE GLOBE Act, I am pleased to see this legislation advance our knowledge of our ocean spaces to ensure that we can capitalize on opportunities to strengthen Alaska’s and America’s blue economy.”

“There’s still so much to learn about the oceans,” said Whitehouse. “Rhode Island’s Blue Economy stands to benefit from more and better ocean mapping, and an improved understanding of our most important natural resource.”

“We still have more to learn from Papahanaumokuakea,” said Schatz. “Strengthening NOAA’s ocean exploration program will increase both the tempo of discovery, and the capacity to manage this Marine National Monument and World Heritage Site.”

The National Ocean Exploration Act would:

  • Authorize and improve the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration, and Characterization Council;
  • Reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s existing Ocean Exploration, Ocean and Coastal Mapping, and Hydrographic Services programs from fiscal years 2021 to 2030; and
  • Establish a system to enhance the public accessibility of ocean-related National Environmental Policy Act documents and the geo-referenced data included in them.

Click here to read the bill.

Sen. Schatz provision for Papahanaumokuakea signed into law

December 31, 2020 — Last Sunday, the president signed a bipartisan government funding bill which included a provision authored by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) that will strengthen protections for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument by starting the process to designate it as a National Marine Sanctuary.

“A new sanctuary designation means more resources and stronger protections for Papahanaumokuakea,” said Sen. Schatz. “This will give us more opportunities to better understand and conserve one of our most important natural resources.”

The Schatz provision directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to commence the process to designate Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument as a National Marine Sanctuary. Following this initiation, NOAA can begin public meetings and the formal legal process to complete the requirements to finalize an official designation. Sanctuary status for the Monument would make it more difficult to weaken the protections in the Executive Orders signed by Presidents Obama and Bush.

Read the full story at The Garden Island

Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument moves closer to sanctuary status

December 30, 2020 — President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan government funding bill on Sunday, Dec. 27, which included a provision from Sen. Brian Schatz that will increase protections for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument by starting the process to designate it as a national marine sanctuary.

The Shatz provision directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to begin the process to designate Papahanaumokuakea as a national marine sanctuary. The senator said the designation will have many positive ramifications.

NOAA can begin completing the requirements to finalize an official designation by holding public meetings and starting the formal legal process when the provision is initiated.

Read the full story at KHON

Floating fish farms in Gulf of Mexico could get green light with Congressional bill

September 30, 2020 — A new bill in Congress would open the Gulf of Mexico and other federal waters to offshore fish farming, a controversial idea backed by President Donald Trump’s administration but opposed by environmental groups and elements of the seafood industry that depend on wild fisheries.

Introduced Thursday and sponsored by U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Mississippi, Marco Rubio, R-Florida, and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act aims to accomplish what a recent federal court decision said was impossible unless Congress intervened.

Last month, the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans blocked federal rules that would have allowed offshore fish farming for the first time in the Gulf, considered potentially a prime area for raising high-value fish in large floating pens. The court said federal regulators lack the authority to “create an entire industry” not mentioned in the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law governing fisheries since 1976.

Read the full story at NOLA.com