The Santa Barbara Channel at the El Capitan State Beach along California coast.

getty

The U.S. government has identified 13 locations in federal waters off California and Texas as potential sites to farm seafood and other aquaculture products.

The agency leading this effort is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration through its National Marine Fisheries Service. The latter manages over 4 million square miles of ocean in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone and has jurisdiction over 163 endangered and threatened marine species.

Among the core functions of the National Fisheries is to oversee sustainable fisheries, while promoting healthy ecosystems and safe seafood.

“Americans eat roughly $15 billion in seafood farmed and imported from foreign countries, where labor and environmental standards often fall short of America’s rigorous standards. By expanding domestic aquaculture to complement wild-harvest fisheries, NOAA is driving an America-first approach that creates jobs, supports coastal communities and ensures high-quality, homegrown seafood for American families,” NOAA noted in a September statement.

It recently released two lengthy final programmatic environmental impact statements that identify places called “Aquaculture Opportunity Areas” for future site to develop commercial aquaculture projects in federal waters off the coasts of Southern California and Texas.

“In offshore federal waters, there are currently no commercial projects in operation, although there are some projects that may pursue permits in the foreseeable future. There are a very limited number of small-scale commercial aquaculture projects in state waters,” noted the 670-page NOAA document for Southern California.

Proposed California Sites

There are a total of 10 sites listed for potential development in the Santa Barbara Channel and Santa Monica Bay.

The potential areas in the federal waters outside California total 16,500 acres that may be suitable for aquaculture development projects for finfish, shellfish and seaweed.

Proposed Locations Along Texas Coastline

The three areas in the waters near Texas are located between Brownsville and Houston. NOAA’s proposal for that area is contained within a 452-page document. It noted that the aquaculture production possibilities there included finfish, shellfish, macroalgae, or other ocean species.

“The goal of identifying AOAs is to promote American seafood competitiveness, food security, economic growth, and support the development of domestic commercial aquaculture, while sustaining and conserving marine resources,” NOAA stated.

The possible federal water areas outside Texas total 4,500 acres for potential commercial aquaculture development.

Economic Potential in U.S. Blue Economy

NOAA stated it will continue to advance the AOAs to drive domestic aquaculture development. The agency stated that the selected areas “are just the beginning of unlocking the vast potential for aquaculture in U.S. waters.”