SATS Members Advocate for Open Ocean Aquaculture Growth
Two members of Stronger America Through Seafood — Neil Anthony Sims, founder and CEO of Ocean Era, and Dick Jones, CEO of Blue Ocean Mariculture—recently participated in a webinar hosted by the Soy Aquaculture Alliance on “Open Ocean Farming: Perspectives on Marine Aquaculture.” As fish farming business experts, the duo discussed how expanding aquaculture in U.S. federal waters would help meet rising seafood demand, support economic growth, and reduce pressure on wild fisheries.
America’s Untapped Potential for Aquaculture as a Sustainable Complement to Wild Capture
Aquaculture is a sustainable complement to wild capture harvesting, helping to reduce current pressures on wild fish stocks while meeting growing demand for seafood, Sims explained.
With land and ocean resources growing scarce, Sims pointed to the untapped potential of aquaculture in America, saying, “The U.S. has the largest Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) on the planet. We are also the largest seafood market.” With the U.S. importing up to 85% of the seafood we consume, farming fish in U.S. federal waters presents a “tremendous opportunity” to strengthen our domestic seafood supply by raising more seafood here at home.
Technology and Sustainability in Practice
As the only open ocean farm in the U.S., Blue Ocean is leading the way in sustainable and innovative fish farming raising Kanpachi, a sushi-grade fish, in Hawaii. “We look at all kinds of things to ensure that as a demonstration to the rest of the world, we’re doing things in the right way, and we’re also looking at innovative technological solutions for our business to grow and scale,” Jones said.
Blue Ocean’s farms use AI-driven biomass tracking, submersible cages, and automated monitoring to optimize fish growth with minimal environmental impact. “I can pull up my phone and look at 28 different environmental parameters on any one of the sea stations offshore,” Jones said.
Federal Legislation is Needed to Support the Expansion of American Aquaculture
Both Sims and Jones emphasized how the lack of a clear regulatory pathway to get farms into waters off U.S. shores leads to uncertainty for businesses and investors and has hindered the development of an open ocean aquaculture industry in the U.S.
Sims spoke about the seven-year struggle to permit Ocean Era’s Velella Epsilon project off Florida’s coast—a single net pen with 20,000 fish, about 1% the size of a commercial farm. “We’ve been working on the permits here since 2018, and we still don’t have those permits in hand,” said Sims. “We want a rigorous permit structure… but we also want to make permits more accessible than the 7-year process we’ve been stuck in.”
Modern fish farms are raising fish and other aquatic species in a responsible and resource-efficient way by utilizing the latest science, research and tech innovations. That is why aquaculture is widely recognized by the scientific community as one of the most sustainable food production methods today.
Until Congress passes legislation to support the expansion of fish farms in U.S. federal waters, regulatory uncertainty will continue to hinder the growth of our nation’s aquaculture potential. By establishing a clear regulatory framework for open ocean aquaculture, Congress would support the growth of American fish farming businesses, like Blue Ocean and Ocean Era. A robust aquaculture industry would drive economic growth, create jobs, and ensure a plentiful, sustainable seafood supply.