Just a bill on Capitol Hill

Development of offshore aquaculture in the United States, a controversial proposition, will need political support for it to succeed. To that end, a recent advancement favors growth of a domestic fish-farming industry, in the form of legislation introduced by U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) last month. While a bill introduced at the 2007 International Boston Seafood Show by former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez was done with great fanfare, it never gained traction and slipped into oblivion like so many other proposed bills on Capitol Hill.

Demand for farmed fish is growing, but nobody wants to see the industry grow so quickly only to suffer a serious setback years down the road due to shortsightedness today; even small, deliberate gains should be considered progress toward the ultimate goal of sustainable aquaculture. Capps’ bill, which seeks to create standards to govern the industry, is close to getting it right (although some Gulf fishermen and NGO Food & Water Watch would beg to differ). She does not want a “piecemeal approach” in which the rules can be bent or are different for everybody.

As Ocean Stewards Institute President Neil Sims has said before regarding offshore aquaculture and organic seafood, standards should be tough — but not unattainable. Standards can take months or years to establish; witness the ongoing Aquaculture Dialogues overseen by the World Wildlife Fund. The key is to do it right the first time.

“It is a moral imperative for the United States to take the lead on sustainable aquaculture development,” Sims said yesterday while voicing support for Capps’ bill, known as the National Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2009. Although Ocean Conservancy and Pew Environment Group are in Capps’ corner, it’s going to take more vocal support for it to have a fighting chance.

Why do Sims and others believe aquaculture is so important? It’s not simply because of the fact that, if the United States doesn’t get into the game, its seafood trade deficit will widen even further; as it is, about 85 of every 100 pounds of seafood that Americans eat comes from another country. I’d say it’s more of an economic imperative, one that could create jobs and reduce dependence on imports while firming the industry’s grip on food safety and environmental controls.

Increased supplies of affordable product won’t just enhance the health of the seafood industry. Considering the many health problems Americans face — diabetes, obesity and heart disease, to name only a few — heart- and brain-healthy seafood should become a larger part of consumers’ diets. But with a finite resource of wild fish, headlines calling attention to struggling or pirated fisheries worldwide and sustainability gradually becoming a household word, that’s an awfully confusing message for many consumers to digest (assuming that they’re paying attention at all).

Solid fishery management can return certain fish stocks to sustainable levels. But any significant increase in per-capita seafood consumption in the United States, which currently stands at about 16 pounds annually, will have to be fueled by aquaculture. It already is — from farms in Asia and South America.

Thank you,
James Wright
Associate Editor
SeaFood Business

Read Whit Richardson's latest blog post on the National Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2009 

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