Marine Aquaculture Task Force Suggests Regulating Aquaculture

Woods Hole, MA -- Congress should enact legislation to ensure that strong environmental standards are in place to regulate the siting and conduct of offshore marine aquaculture, according to an independent panel of leaders from scientific, policymaking, business, and conservation institutions. At the same time, the Marine Aquaculture Task Force suggests that the federal government should provide funding and incentives for research, development, and deployment of technologies, and techniques for sustainable marine aquaculture.
Aquaculture is the farming of fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants, and it accounts for nearly one half of all seafood consumed in the world today. The industry is growing rapidly as wild fish stocks decline.

The Task Force—-organized by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), with support from The Pew Charitable Trusts and The Lenfest Foundation—-was charged with examining the risks and benefits of marine aquaculture and developing a set of national policy recommendations to guide future development of our oceans.

Members of the panel have been meeting since the summer of 2005, and they released their findings in a media conference call. View full report -- Sustainable Marine Aquaculture: Fulfilling The Promise; Managing The Risks.

“There is a growing need for seafood to feed a hungry world, but the world’s fisheries can no longer meet the demand,” said task force chairman Rear Adm. (ret.) Richard F. Pittenger, former WHOI vice president for Marine Facilities and Operations and a former Oceanographer of the Navy. “Half of our seafood comes from aquaculture, and that share is only going to grow. The federal government has proposed a fivefold increase in U.S. aquaculture production, and while we certainly agree with an increase, we believe it must be done in an environmentally responsible way.”

Read the rest of this story at Pew Charitable Trusts News Release