Saving Seafood

NOAA Is Seeking Public Input on Where to Locate New Aquaculture Opportunity Areas in the United States

August 31, 2026 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Home (NOAA) from the United States (US) is seeking public input on where to focus while searching places to begin the process of identifying Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOA). They are requesting relevant information on specific issues and areas they should consider for future Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. The deadline for comments is September 14, 2026.

According the definition they provided, Aquaculture Opportunity Areas are defined geographic areas that have been evaluated to determine their potential suitability for commercial aquaculture. The AOA identification process takes into account the potential environmental, economic, and social impacts of identifying AOAs and siting aquaculture in those locations drawing from extensive scientific review and analysis. Public input is critical to this process.

As part of the comment period, NOAA will also host three public listening sessions. The sessions will be in English and Spanish, they reported. They look for the citizens attend one of three public listening sessions or provide a written comment through to help inform where NOAA should focus on searching for Aquaculture Opportunity Areas.

The importance of the task relies on the fact that the United States imported an estimated USD 12 billion in farmed seafood in 2024, about half of the USD 25 billion in total seafood imports. “Aquaculture creates jobs, uplifts coastal economies, and complements wild-capture fisheries. It provides healthy and sustainable seafood to American families—bolstering domestic food security,” members of NOAA highlighted.

Read the full article at Aquaculture Magazine

MAINE: Gratitude for our sea farmers

August 22, 2026 — Cultivating food for human consumption is among the most noble and important jobs in society. Harnessing the resources gifted to us by nature and turning them into delicious meals for our neighbors and visitors is a challenging task, and farmers—of both the land and sea—deserve our gratitude.

Our pristine waters produce the most exquisite seafood on the planet. The flavors of our farmed oysters, mussels, and salmon are desired by the finest chefs in America and envied by seafood producers all over the world. Maine’s sea farmers are the ones who make it possible for us to be nourished by this local, sustainable, and delicious food.

The Maine Farmed Seafood Coalition consists of over 50 businesses and industry support groups—including seafood farmers and dealers, banks, educational institutions, and nonprofits. Our goal is to tell the authentic stories of sea farmers and educate the public about the opportunities aquaculture presents for our economy, communities, and ecosystems.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT SALMON FROM ITS PACKAGING

July 24, 2024 — If you’ve ever shopped for salmon, you’ve probably found yourself wavering between a jumble of options. But a scan of the packages — typically emblazoned with various claims about sustainability and nutrition — might not be much help.

This problem isn’t unique to salmon, the second most popular seafood eaten in the United States after shrimp. Many shoppers want to make better choices for themselves and for the environment, but product labels are often confusing or sparse.

“A lot of packaging doesn’t include the information needed,” said Ben Halpern, a professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

We examined more than a dozen packages of salmon sold at major grocery stores and spoke with experts about how to better understand common labels. Here’s what we learned.

Wild-caught or farmed?

Most salmon packaging will clearly state whether the fish was wild-caught or farmed. If a package doesn’t specify wild-caught or farm-raised, you can probably assume it’s farmed.

In the United States, wild salmon stocks are generally well managed and highly regulated, which means they are less likely to be overfished. An added bonus: Wild salmon is a nutrient-rich and lean source of protein.

But wild-caught fish can be more expensive than farmed options and is not always as easy to find.

Farm-raised fish is generally cheaper, though it is less environmentally friendly, according to several experts. Salmon farms have historically relied on the widespread use of antibiotics and pesticides. Captive fish can also escape their pens and change the genetic makeup of wild stocks.

However, some major salmon-producing countries have improved their farming practices over the years and many farms now use fewer chemicals.

Some farmed-raised salmon might not be as pink as their wild counterparts, which naturally get their color by eating wild shrimp. But farmed fish can also be dyed during processing, so keep an eye out for labels that say “COLOR ADDED.” In other cases, farms could use feed containing a type of carotenoid, or naturally occurring pigment, that gives their flesh a pinker color.

The filets of farmed fish tend to be fattier, but that can keep them more moist when cooked.

“Farmed salmon is really overall a strong option,” said Halpern.

Read the full article at the Washington Post

The West Coast Groundfish Recovery: The Best Fish News You Haven’t Heard Yet

December 16, 2015 — Monterey, California, used to be an epicenter in the West Coast commercial fishing industry. But these days the city’s waterfront is full of restaurants serving shrimp and tilapia imported from China. And it’s not the only place doing so.

Many small ports around the United States have fallen into disrepair as more Americans consume imported, often farmed seafood. But there’s also an evolution taking place in commercial fishing in some small port towns that might just bring them back to life.

Cities up and down the West Coast once relied heavily on local “groundfish,” such as rockfish, sand dabs, and petrale sole. But the groundfish fishery saw a dramatic decline by 2000, and although many of the fish themselves have come back, the industry hasn’t recovered. Now, a public-private partnership is working to bring access to local fish in small port communities. And it’s a change that could benefit fishermen and women and the environment, and help small port towns rebuild more robust, stable, and diversified economies.

The Dark Days

Guiseppe “Joe” Pennisi, a third generation Monterey fisherman, has been running a boat since he was 18. He saw the West Coast ground fishery begin to grow in 1987 and balloon to hit 11,000 vessels by 2000. That was the year the federal government declared the coast of Oregon, Washington, and California an “economic disaster” due to groundfish stocks collapsing.

At the time, the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program moved most species of West Coast groundfish on to their red “Avoid” list, and by 2005, the nonprofits Oceana and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to protect groundfish.

Read the full story at Civil Eats

NOAA: FishWatch Goes Mobile!

October 20, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As part of National Seafood Month, we are excited to announce that our new FishWatch website is now live! Our new mobile-friendly website will enable you to access the Nation’s database on sustainable seafood anywhere, anytime, on any device. It still features the same great information, but it’s now easier to use on the go from your phone or tablet. The new FishWatch site will continue to help you:

  • Make smart seafood choices by arming you with the facts about what makes U.S. seafood sustainable-from the ocean or farm to your plate.
  • Get up-to-date information on the status of some of the nation’s most valuable marine fish harvested in U.S. federal waters as well as U.S. farmed fish that help meet our country’s growing seafood demand.
  • Understand how U.S. seafood is responsibly harvested and grown under a strong monitoring, management, and enforcement regime that works to keep the marine environment healthy, fish populations thriving, and our seafood industry on the job.

Be sure to check out the new FishWatch site anywhere, anytime! 

Aquaculture And Marine Ingredients Video Premieres At IFFO Annual Conference

October 7, 2015 — After decades of growth, the aquaculture industry continues to expand as a crucial segment of the global seafood market, and sustainably harvested fish meal and fish oil are fueling this growth. In a new video produced by Saving Seafood and released in partnership with IFFO, the trade association representing the marine ingredients industry, and Omega Protein, aquaculture industry leaders and experts discuss the future of fish meal, fish oil and farmed seafood. The video, which premiered on 28th September at IFFO’s Annual Conference in Berlin, is also being made available to the public.

View the video, “A Closer Look at Aquaculture and Marine Ingredients,” here

https://vimeo.com/139608227?utm_source=VIDEO%3A+Sustainable+Aquaculture+Takes+Center+Stage+at+International+Conference&utm_campaign=Obama+threatens+MSA+veto&utm_medium=email

“People talk about fish meal replacements; there really aren’t fish meal replacements, because no one ingredient is going to have everything that fish meal has,” said Dr. Rick Barrows, a Fish Nutritionist at the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service Fish Technology Center in Bozeman, Montana.

Fish meal and fish oil are irreplaceable because they are some of the best sources of the proteins and essential nutrients that are vital to healthy farmed fish. Some of these nutrients, especially omega-3 fatty acids, are an increasingly important part of human diets as well, having been linked to improved heart health and better brain function.

“You and I, like fish, need 40 essential micronutrients,” says Dr. Michael Rubino, Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Office of Aquaculture. “Forage fish, in the form of fish meal and fish oil happens to be the perfect combination of those micronutrients.”

Read the full story at IFFO