US lobby group renews push for quicker fish farm permitting
Fish farming lobby group Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) has launched a month-long campaign to educate members of the United States Congress and congressional staff about what it says it the urgent need for Congress to provide a pathway for open ocean aquaculture in US waters.
SATS will release a wide range of campaign materials - including a fact sheet, social media assets, and targeted paid advertisements - highlighting what the US is missing out on in economic and environmental benefits without a thriving aquaculture industry. The organisation says fish farming in the open ocean is hindered in America due to the lack of federal legislation to support industry growth.
Digital advertisements will also run in two Washington-based publications, Politico and Axios, to reach key audiences on Capitol Hill.
An untapped industry
“As one of the most environmentally friendly methods for producing protein, open ocean aquaculture is a vital food production method being embraced by nations worldwide, but it remains an untapped industry here in the US,” said SATS campaign manager Drue Banta Winters.
“Without federal action, the US will continue to miss out on the benefits that a thriving aquaculture industry would provide, including job creation and economic growth in congressional districts and communities across the country. Legislation to support aquaculture in federal waters would strengthen our economy, ensure a more secure seafood supply chain, and help increase access to affordable, American-grown seafood.”
$877m missed chance
According to SATS, aquaculture in the US contributes $4 billion annually to the economy and supports more than 22,000 jobs. It says open ocean aquaculture would generate an additional $877 million in economic contributions and create thousands of jobs across the seafood supply chain, including at hatcheries; manufacturing, equipment and feed suppliers; and seafood processing facilities.
More US-raised seafood would reduce the country’s $17 billion seafood trade deficit and provide American families with more affordable seafood options, as well as protecting the US seafood industry from unforeseen disruptions, such as global pandemics or port delays.
SATS has been pushing members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to pass the AQUAA Act, a bi-partisan bill that would simplify permitting for offshore fish farms, but that won’t happen in the current session of Congress which ends in January next year. Some potential fish farmers have been trying to win permission for more than a decade.
Read more about SATS’ efforts in the current online edition of Fish Farming Expert magazine.
