In 2016, the Sea Grant Association published the 10-Year NOAA Sea Grant Aquaculture Vision. The Vision served as a foundational document guiding strategic investments to support the sustainable growth of the U.S. aquaculture industry. In January 2024, Sea Grant initiated a new planning program to create a 10-Year Sea Grant Aquaculture Roadmap (2025-2035). There are two goals of the Roadmap: 1) to guide Sea Grant’s aquaculture investments and contributions to address key farming and other aquaculture community needs, and 2) the Roadmap will inform Congress, the Sea Grant Network, the aquaculture community, NOAA, and other state and federal agencies about the role Sea Grant has in fostering sustainable U.S. aquaculture. Sea Grant contracted with the Eastern Research Group, Inc. (ERG) to create the Roadmap. ERG coordinated a project team consisting of aquaculture staff members in the National Sea Grant Office and the Sea Grant Aquaculture Liaison. A steering committee composed of members of national or regional aquaculture associations, NOAA’s Office of Aquaculture, the Sea Grant Advisory Board and Sea Grant extension and education staff from across the Sea Grant Network was established and met regularly.
The one-year project consisted of three key engagement phases designed to gather input and diverse perspectives from the U.S. aquaculture community. Phase I was a reflection phase to gather feedback on successes, lessons learned and opportunities for change. Phase II was a forward- looking phase to identify actions, opportunities, and priority investments to further advance sustainable US aquaculture with Sea Grant’s support. During Phase III, draft content for the Roadmap was vetted and revised for the final draft Roadmap. Input from 308 people was obtained during the listening sessions and input from another 65 people (as of September 2024) using an online survey. Participants included farmers, equipment suppliers, regulators, educators, and researchers, as well as representatives from Tribal and Indigenous groups, aquaculture associations, non-governmental organizations, federal and state agencies, and the Sea Grant Network.
Preliminary results identified the following four service areas for Sea Grant to address:
Within each service area are 4-6 proposed actions. During the presentation details of the proposed actions and outcomes will be shared.