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Our Work Aquaculture: Setting the Standard for Safe Fish Farming

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Fish farming, the fastest-growing sector of our global food production system, now accounts for more than 50 percent of the world's seafood supply. But without thoughtful planning and careful regulation, fish farming has the potential to severely harm our ocean ecosystems.

In February, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released a new open-ocean aquaculture policy, which is an important step forward but lacks strong and legally binding national standards. Ocean Conservancy's new report, Right From the Start (right, or download the pdf), proposes a way forward—analyzing the environmental risks of ocean fish farming, evaluating the lessons learned outside the United States, and detailing what is needed in this country.


Roll over the gray box and click the "View in Fullscreen" button to enlarge
the report and read it in your browser.
Urge NOAA to Support Responsible Fish-Farming

Getting It Right from the Start

Open-ocean aquaculture, a newly emerging use of the ocean, is expanding dramatically around the world. In the US, some limited open-ocean fish farms exist in US state waters, and plans for large-scale aquaculture operations in federal ocean waters (from 3-200 miles offshore) are underway. These plans have become the focus of considerable debate. Some see an opportunity to expand the industry as fast as possible, regardless of the ecological costs. Others would prefer to see the industry go away entirely.

In reality, neither is a tenable approach. Marine aquaculture will continue to grow globally in the coming decades, contributing a large share of our domestic seafood supply. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO ) estimates that 32 percent of the seafood that Americans eat comes from foreign fish farms, while only five percent is produced here — primarily by land-based and near shore farms. At Ocean Conservancy, we believe that any expansion of open-ocean aquaculture must be guided by a rigorous planning and regulatory framework — one which uses the best available science to protect the public’s resources, while balancing the needs of a hungry planet, a myriad of ocean uses, and traditional, coastal-dependent communities.

A domestic open-ocean aquaculture industry could become a responsible part of America’s seafood portfolio. However, if poorly developed and managed, marine aquaculture can be a serious threat to ecological well-being. We know from experiences around the world that poorly regulated aquaculture threatens the health of marine ecosystems and squanders precious natural resources. The expansion of aquaculture into the offshore environment will have important implications for how we use — and protect — our ocean over the next century.

Ocean Conservancy is working to ensure that open-ocean aquaculture won’t expand without a national regulatory framework in place. The US must articulate a vision that protects the ocean, existing ocean users including recreational and wild fisheries, and the aquaculture industry itself from the threats of poorly regulated fish farms.

This is our chance to get it right from the start.