Priorities
About the NOAA Aquaculture Program: Priorities
U.S. aquaculture provides jobs and a steady, year-round source of seafood products to processors and the restaurant industry. Aquaculture is also used to enhance valuable commercial and recreational species, including oysters and pacific salmon. Pictured above, staff from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation sort through bags of cultured oysters as part of a demonstration project in Virginia. [NOAA Aquaculture Program photo]
The NOAA Aquaculture Program focuses on several distinct priority areas including regulations and policies, research and technology, outreach and education, and international activities. This page examines those priority areas and expands on NOAA's work in each area.
A Regulatory Framework for Marine Aquaculture
The NOAA Aquaculture Program’s top priority is to develop a sound and effective regulatory framework for marine aquaculture in the United States, including federal waters. The purpose of this effort is to enable domestic aquaculture production within the context of NOAA’s marine stewardship responsibilities, which include the protection of the marine environment while balancing multiple uses of coastal and ocean waters.
The program’s current regulatory and policy initiatives include:
- Securing passage of the National Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2007;
- Working with NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to develop a regulatory framework for aquaculture in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico under Magnuson-Stevens Act authorities; and
- Working with other NOAA programs to improve protocols and guidance for the review of aquaculture permit applications under existing authorities.
Research and Technology
For over two decades, NOAA has been an international leader in aquaculture research and technology development. Innovative research has been conducted by scientists within NOAA, by collaborative research with academic and private sector partners, via international and bilateral research initiatives with foreign scientists, and through a NOAA-run competitive grants program for marine aquaculture. Areas of emphasis have included research on nutrition, early life history culture techniques, aquatic species restoration, stock enhancement, and ecosystem management. The overall goal of these research initiatives is to improve resource management capabilities through the application of aquaculture technology to replenish marine resources and to lay the ground work to provide a regulatory framework for U.S. marine aquaculture, including federal waters.
The program’s current research initiatives focus on:
- Research and development through the National Marine Aquaculture Initiative;
- An internal inventory of aquaculture research capabilities at the agency’s regional Fisheries Science Centers; and
- In-house research focused on genetics, alternative feeds for marine fish, restoration of threatened and endangered species, and stock enhancement.
Outreach and Education
An integral part of NOAA’s overall mission is a well informed public that acts as a steward of coastal and marine ecosystems. The NOAA Aquaculture Program supports this aspect of the agency’s mission by contributing to public understanding and appreciation of the role of aquaculture as a vital national food source and a fishery management tool.
The program’s outreach and education activities include collecting, analyzing, and disseminating general aquaculture information and NOAA Aquaculture Program information at public meetings and conferences, through the Sea Grant and USDA Aquaculture Extension networks, and through various websites, including this website and the NOAA Library’s Aquaculture Information Center.
The program’s primary audiences for this information are the aquaculture and seafood industries, coastal communities, commercial and recreational fishermen, fishery management councils and commissions, other government agencies, research scientists, academia, and interested non-governmental organizations.
The program’s current outreach initiatives include:
- Hosting the National Symposium on Shellfish and the Environment, an effort to address important issues related to shellfish aquaculture;
- Coordinating the NOAA-USDA Alternative Feeds Initiative, an effort to eventually reduce the amount of fish meal and fish oils used in aquaculture feed;
- Coordination of presentations on aquaculture in cooperation with the NOAA Central Library’s ongoing lecture series. A recent presentation by Sebastian Belle of the Maine Aquaculture Association outlined the aquaculture industry in Maine, focusing the steps taken to achieve sustainable aquaculture operations in Maine. A previous presentation by Dr. Gunnar Knapp of the University of Alaska-Anchorage explored the implications of aquaculture on wild fisheries using wild Alaska salmon markets as a case study;
- Development and distribution of information related to NOAA Aquaculture Program initiatives and activities including the National Marine Aquaculture Initiative and the National Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2007;
- Development and distribution of information highlighting the benefits and challenges of marine aquaculture and its effect on the environment;
- Dissemination of information through the NOAA Library’s Aquaculture Information Center; and
- Participation in national conferences and outreach events throughout the year including the Aquaculture America conference, and Milford Aquaculture Seminar.
The NOAA Aquaculture Program also participates in a variety of other activities throughout the year, including the development of the National Aquatic Animal Health Plan and the NOAA 10-Year Plan for Marine Aquaculture, and participation in the Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture.
The program’s past outreach activities can be found here.
International Activities
The NOAA Aquaculture Program is involved in a variety of formal international bilateral research exchanges, including a Living Marine Resources Exchange with China, an ongoing scientific exchange program with Korea, and the U.S.-Japanese Cooperative Program in Natural Resources (UJNR). The program also works with policymakers and researchers from Norway and Canada on an ongoing basis. In addition, NOAA participates in multilateral and bilateral government meetings on aquaculture with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the European Union, Chile, Mexico, Canada, Norway, France, and other countries, and plays an active role in international fisheries conventions.