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.
“If anyone is to expand the 40-year-old Magnuson-Stevens Act to reach aquaculture for the first time, it must be Congress,” the decision said.
The AQUAA Act would do just that. It would establish national standards and a regulatory system for offshore aquaculture. It would also initiate a research and technology grant program to fund improvements in the industry.
A court ruling struck down plans for floating fish farms in the Gulf of Mexico.
Expanding aquaculture would be a boon to American businesses and help meet growing demand for seafood, Wicker said.
“Aquaculture is the fastest growing food production sector, but the U.S. lacks a comprehensive, nationwide system for permitting in federal waters,” he said in a statement. “This deficiency prevents the development of aquaculture farms, leading to more seafood imports.”
U.S. fishers and aquaculture operations have lagged in meeting demand for fish and other seafood. More than 80% of the seafood eaten by Americans is imported.
Opponents say offshore fish farms will create pollution in the form of fish waste, spread diseases to wild fish populations and increase competition with fishing companies that depend on wild catches.
“Industrial finfish aquaculture facilities harm wild ecosystems ... and threaten local fishermen’s livelihoods,” said Rosanna Marie Neil, policy specialist with Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance. “Instead of supporting the corporate takeover of our oceans, lawmakers should safeguard the livelihoods of fishermen and coastal residents who are already struggling.”
Other groups opposed to offshore aquaculture include the Center for Food Safety, Gulf Fishermen's Association, Alabama Charter Fishing Association, and New Orleans-based Recirculating Farms Coalition and Healthy Gulf.
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The slow-simmering effort to allow fish farming in the Gulf received a major boost in May, when Trump signed an executive order making it the policy of the federal government to "identify and remove unnecessary regulatory barriers" restricting aquaculture in federal waters. The appeals court decision didn’t slow his administration’s efforts to allow offshore fish farms. Within weeks of the decision, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced plans to designate waters in the Gulf and off the California coast that show strong potential for aquaculture, while the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began streamlining the aquaculture permitting process.
Fish farming is currently allowed in ponds and tanks on land and in floating pens in some marine waters managed by states, such as Washington and Hawaii.
Only one offshore fish farm has been proposed in the Gulf to date. Ocean Era of Hawaii envisions installing an underwater net pen about 45 miles southwest of Sarasota. The project, called Velella Epsilon, could produce 20,000 almaco jack, a fish similar to amberjack, each year.
Rubio said fish farming “presents an enormous opportunity” for Florida’s economy.
Opponents say the industry's benefits would be concentrated with a few companies that have the money to build expensive farms. Even Ocean Era, which already operates an almaco jack farm in Hawaii, relied on federal assistance to get its Florida project going. In 2017, NOAA gave Ocean Era a $130,000 grant to help with permitting, research and promotion efforts.
Royal bream raised in a floating net pen in France.
It’s doubtful fish farms will create many jobs, according to Food & Water Watch, which found that floating farms in Hawaii typically employed about 22 people.
Fish farms could threaten existing fishing jobs by producing seafood that undercuts prices for wild-caught varieties, say members of the Louisiana Shrimp Association.
The AQUAA Act was referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation last week. A companion bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.
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