The marine conservation community is now increasingly willing to consider marine aquaculture – and particularly offshore aquaculture – more favorably, as an environmentally responsible means of producing animal protein for the planet. Much of this shift has come with the recognition that wild stock fisheries simply cannot sustain the growing demands of 10 billion people, and the realization that aquaculture – when done right – can be minimally impactful. Offshore aquaculture also attracts greater interest now from eNGOs, funds and impact investors, because of the potentially lower externalities, and the abundant ability to scale.
However, eNGOs still seem hesitant to embrace policies in support of offshore aquaculture expansion in the USA. A recent Marine Policy paper (Fujita, et al, 2022) highlights concerns about “ecological risks” and “knowledge gaps”. The eNGO-supported SEAfood Act, recently introduced into the US House of Representative, is packed with caveats and precautions, advocating for only incremental advances offshore, such as a few, small “pilot projects”.
Offshore aquaculture policy and development is hurt by Fujita, et al.’s perceived knowledge gaps. Uncertainty breeds hesitancy. However, this also now offers us an opportunity to partner with, engage and better educate, the conservation community. There appears to be a genuine eNGO willingness to more fully understand the science of offshore aquaculture, and the realities needed to support responsible industry growth. Industry advocates should ideally, then, work more closely with our eNGO colleagues to ensure that reliable data is available, and understood, and that policies align with the practical needs of commercial operations.
For this reason, Ocean Era, Inc. has joined the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture (CSA). This presentation will discuss how industry can quickly and effectively address most of these perceived knowledge gaps, and how we can find areas of commonality and policy agreement amongst CSA members, even where there is incertitude.
What we don’t know (or don’t share amongst ourselves) can also hurt the industry. We need to improve the way that we exchange information about learned experiences, especially where things go wrong. Siloing knowledge to protect reputations, brand image or proprietary interests can be unhelpful, or downright dangerous. The aviation industry perhaps presents a useful model, where accidents are extensively studied, and lessons applied industry-wide.
We should seek to emulate this safety record, by keeping fish, workers and the environment as safe as airplanes. Either the offshore aquaculture industry should establish its own safety regulatory authority, or perhaps we might ask NOAA to do so. Sharing information with each other, with regulatory authorities, and with the science-driven eNGO community – and learning from our collective experience - is better for us all. But fulsome sharing needs to come from a place of trust, and for this to happen, we need eNGOs and regulatory agencies to recognize the value of such transparency and collaboration.