World Aquaculture Magazine - March 2021

46 MARCH 2021 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S .ORG farmers during GLAD breakout sessions was the failure of system operations such as power outages and water pumps breaking and overheating that contributed to fish losses and enlightened producers about the need for back-up and warning systems. Sharing these stories can help promote peer-to-peer learning in which other producers could avoid these common pitfalls and their associated disasters. These anecdotes re-emphasized the need for connections within the aquaculture industry in the Great Lakes region and reinforced the need for collaborations such as the GLAC for networking and information dissemination. Regulations At the federal level, the U.S. agencies responsible for regulation of aquaculture include the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In addition to these federal agencies, regulation continues at the state level through various state departments such as conservation and/or natural resources and pollution control agencies. The Current Challenges and Potential Solutions in the Great Lakes Region panel discussion highlighted regulations as an important challenge. Regulations play an important role in aspects such as the social license and environmental sustainability of aquaculture (Runge et al . 2020, Witzling et al. 2020). Consequently, regulations protecting wild fishes often take precedence in the Great Lakes region and, by extension, the protection of water resources (Rau et al . 2020). Regulations are often blamed for inhibiting aquaculture expansion in the U.S. However, because regulation is often controlled by individual states, it is likely the complexity of regulation, not regulations per se, that can be difficult to navigate. A survey of Wisconsin fish farmers showed that the majority of respondents were interested in learning more about regulations and reported that regulation cost hindered their businesses (Yang et al . 2019). GLAD presenters suggested region-wide continuity in regulations across the Great Lakes would help the industry. This regional need also parallels national discussions in response to a U.S. federal executive order on promoting American seafood competitiveness and economic growth signed on May 7, 2020 (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/executive- order-promoting-american-seafood-competitiveness-economic- growth/). For example, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) stimulated workgroups such as the Work Plan for Federal Aquaculture Regulatory Task Force ( https://www.ars.usda.gov/sca/ taskforce.html) and webinars such as “Aquaculture is Agriculture” hosted by the USDA on December 11, 2020 (whitepaper to be published). COVID-19 Impacts The COVID-19 pandemic was a persistent theme throughout GLAD. This was not surprising as an early survey of aquaculture businesses across the U.S. indicated that 90 percent of aquaculture businesses were affected in some way by the COVID-19 pandemic (van Senten et. al . 2020). Aquaculture producers who sold to restaurants before the pandemic saw their sales decline and were required to pivot from this market to survive. Research suggests that demand for seafood from restaurants declined more than 70 percent during lockdowns (White et al . 2020). Producers who had an existing online, direct-marketing presence were better able to weather the change in markets as were producers who already had products in grocery stores as grocery store sales increased (Hobbs 2020). Businesses with processing capabilities also pivoted rapidly. For example, one producer explained that he was able to quickly pivot from relying on a distributor to reach the end consumer, to processing their own fish by filleting, vacuum sealing, and flash freezing their product for sale in demand-rich markets. As COVID-19 impacted the change in markets for fish as food, many producers shifted frommarketing to restaurants, to direct marketing using social media to find consumers or promote their products. One GLAD presenter indicated a benefit of social media marketing is that a business can tell their story directly to consumers, thereby cultivating a strong and loyal community of supporters to help in product promotion−a result that benefited marketing during COVID-19. Many GLAD speakers mentioned the need for farmers to diversify markets to survive as the COVID-19 impacts will most likely not just be temporary. TABLE 1. Names and associated delivery format for each session in the survey. S e s s i on T i t l e De l i v e r y 1. Keynote: Why We Raise Fish Presentation 2. How to Get Started in Aquaculture Presentation 3. Overview of System Types in the North Central Region Video 4. Best Management Practices Presentation 5. Pathways to Success Panel Discussion 6. Lunch breakout rooms Informal Discussion 7. Current Challenges and Potential Solutions in the Great Lakes Region Panel Discussion 8. Aquaculture during COVID Presentation 9. Technical Expertise Panel Discussion 10. Consumer Preferences Presentation 11. Seafood Cooking Demo Videos 12. Cooking Competition Live Cooking Videos