NOAA Magazine | NOAA Home Page NOAA's NATIONAL MARINE AQUACULTURE INITIATIVE: SEAFOOD AND TECHNOLOGY FOR THE FUTURE March 6, 2002 — Did you know that aquaculture provides more than 30 percent of the world's seafood supply and that its production is growing, while wild fisheries are declining? People in the United States continue to eat more fish—U.S. consumption of fishery products was 15.6 pounds per person of edible meat in 2000. To meet this increasing demand, the United States imported more than $10.2 billion of edible seafood—at least 40 percent cultured in 2001. Dependence on imported seafood is a major contributor to the overall U.S. trade deficit. In 2001, the trade deficit in edible seafood exceeded $7 billion—a doubling since 1995. Farmed shrimp and salmon are a significant portion of imported seafood, but the United States also imports farmed catfish, tilapia, oysters, mussels, scallops and other familiar seafood. Much of the seafood sold in restaurants and in grocery stores (including catfish, trout, salmon, striped bass, tilapia, shrimp, clams, mussels and oysters) are predominantly farmed products. Ornamental fish (both freshwater and marine) are also farmed and imported from around the world, and the United States is now the largest market for these fish that grace many public and private aquariums. Long before September 11, NOAA and the Department of Commerce realized the importance of seafood for economic and food security. In fact, NOAA is expanding its aquaculture research effort to improve the technology for environmentally acceptable aquaculture, including offshore and recirculating production systems and marine fish enhancement studies. Aquaculture is considered an integral part of the U.S. seafood supply when taken in context with wild harvest and the coastal communities that depend upon these living resources. In fact, NOAA placed a high degree of importance on aquaculture in its last round of study grants in 2000. The request for proposals from the National Sea Grant College Program (NOAA Research), resulted in 223 proposals totaling nearly $95 million—in competition for $5 million in available funding. This tremendous response is indicative of the high level of interest by the research and industry communities. Ultimately, a total of 26 projects were selected for funding over a broad range of topics, including aquaculture policy and regulation, regional offshore aquaculture programs, marine recirculating systems, and new species research. Priority was given to those projects that had multiple investigators, disciplines, milestones, or states that considered environmental issues of importance to aquaculture. NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service has a long history of involvement with aquaculture, including the farming of salmon in the Pacific Northwest, the revitalization of the oyster industry in the Northeast, and marine shrimp propagation in the Southeast. NOAA Fisheries' Manchester laboratory, using aquaculture technology, has prevented extinction of Red Fish Lake Sockeye, and scientists are aiding the recovery of this and other important species. The agency's laboratory in Milford, Conn., recently held its 22nd annual Aquaculture Seminar. Current research priorities include studies of aquaculture's contribution to rebuilding efforts for wild stocks. In addition to its in-house research programs, the agency has also supported $12 million in aquaculture grants to industry through the Saltonstall/Kennedy Program and $27 million in loans to the industry through the Fisheries Finance Program. NOAA's National Ocean Service has supported research using Global Information Systems (GIS) to identify optimum zones and processes for proposed coastal aquaculture sites. The Advanced Technology Program of the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards has awarded $21 million in research support for aquaculture to industry and academic partnerships. The NOAA Central library has created a national Aquaculture Information Center to provide information and research results to users through Web-based and personal assistance. NOAA investments in aquaculture have already led to many significant results: Several species have been spawned or reared for the first time in the United States, including Cobia (see picture to the right), Mutton Snapper (see picture at top of article), Black Sea Bass, Cod, Haddock, Halibut, Flounder, Pacific Threadfin (Hawaii)(see picture below right), Sablefish (Washington), and rockfish (Washington). NOAA grant recipients and NOAA Fisheries laboratories are continuing work to successfully close the life-cycle for some of these marine species. Potential applications for stock enhancements are being examined. A draft policy framework for U.S. aquaculture in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ — federal waters extending out to 200 miles from shore) has been prepared and circulated to decision makers. Most aquaculture in the United States currently takes place either on land or in coastal waters under state jurisdiction. In order for the industry to develop in offshore areas of the ocean beyond the limits of state control, a federal legal and administrative framework is needed. Codes of Conduct for conducting aquaculture operations in an environmentally and socially responsible manner have been developed by the Pacific shellfish industry and other best management practices are being drafted for several other industry sectors. In 2000, the National Marine Fisheries Service held a series of public meetings to obtain stakeholder input for the development of a Code of Conduct for Responsible Aquaculture in the Exclusive Economic Zone. A draft Code, based on this input, is currently being prepared for public comment. Several regional efforts to take aquaculture out of the more sensitive inshore waters into more distant offshore waters have been initiated in Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Gulf Coast, the Pacific Northwest, and New England. Two new companies have been established for offshore aquaculture in Hawaii and Puerto Rico, with the Hawaii company already harvesting its first crop. Research on scallops on the west coast of Florida has helped lead to the first opening of the recreational scallop fishery since 1995. The decline of coral reefs around the world has led to concern that the collection of marine ornamentals may impact certain species and coral reefs in general. In response, the National Sea Grant College Program has sponsored two international meetings in Hawaii and Florida on the culture and capture of marine ornamental species and has funded research on hatchery and rearing techniques—and best management practices—for sustainable harvest of ornamental species. As a result, several coral reef species are now farmed commercially and are available to marine aquarists around the world. It is now possible to have a beautiful marine aquarium containing nothing but cultured species of fish and invertebrates (in fact, Commerce Secretary Don Evans and other NOAA offices now have marine aquaria (see picture to the right) containing cultured species to demonstrate the feasibility of using cultured coral reef species). Relevant Web Sites NOAA's Aquaculture Information Center National Sea Grant College Program NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service Saltonstall/Kennedy Program Fisheries Finance Program NOAA's National Ocean Service Department of Commerce Advanced Technology Program Aquaculture Information Center Completes First Year Successfully Media Contact: Greg Hernandez, NOAA, (202) 482-3091