SATS Launches Campaign Urging Congress to Support U.S. Aquaculture

Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) has launched a new campaign calling on Congress to support a pathway for open ocean aquaculture in U.S. waters.

Fish farming in the open ocean is hindered in America today due to the lack of federal legislation to support industry growth – costing our nation an estimated $877 million and thousands of jobs.

SATS’s month-long campaign will highlight all the U.S. is missing out on in economic and environmental benefits without a thriving aquaculture industry.

Throughout the campaign, SATS will share a wide range of materials, including a fact sheet, social media assets (shown above), and targeted paid advertisements. Digital advertisements will also run in two Washington, D.C.-based publications: Politico and Axios, to reach key audiences on Capitol Hill.

Drue Banta Winters, SATS campaign manager, commented on the campaign launch: 

“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 U.S. Without federal action, the U.S. 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.”

 The U.S. ranks only 18th in aquaculture production globally and imports up to 85% of its seafood – half of which is estimated to come from fish farms in other countries – contributing to an American seafood trade deficit of $17 billion. Expanding open ocean aquaculture would help increase our supply of American-raised seafood as a sustainable complement to America’s wild fishing sector.
Learn more about the benefits of aquaculture expansion in America. You can also follow the campaign along on LinkedIn and X.