A Management Tool and Strategy for Aquaculture Development in Offshore United States Coastal Waters

Situation or Problem: An offshore aquaculture industry operating in the United States Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) has tremendous potential for meeting the rapidly expanding global markets for fish products, particularly given the generally collapsing wild harvest fisheries here and elsewhere in the world. However, there are major impediments to this development in the U.S. including environmental and health concerns and the lack of definitive financial information needed to attract investors. No study, or available tool or model, addresses these often conflicting factors in a comprehensive and practical manner required to design actual aquaculture farms at specific offshore ocean sites. Purpose: The purpose of this project is to provide the responsible government agencies as well as potential aquaculture operators and investors with a management tool for making effective decisions relative to offshore aquaculture design and siting. The model and technical approach can be adapted to a wide variety of offshore aquaculture ventures in the United States and will help contribute to the development of a robust, economically viable industry while satisfying environmental concerns. Given that offshore farming is now conducted strictly by foreign enterprises, the competitive posture of the U.S. relative to the international community could be significantly enhanced by allowing our abundant offshore resources to be effectively exploited by a new offshore U.S. aquaculture industry.