The impacts of climate change on our nation’s food production, including fisheries, have been devastating — jeopardizing wild fish populations and causing shortages of wild catch fish. As climate change increasingly threatens marine ecosystems, and land resources grow scarcer, we need to look to alternative food production methods to supply our communities with sustainable protein while conserving ocean resources.
Aquaculture, or the raising of fish and other aquatic species, is an emerging global industry that can help ensure more Americans have access to local and affordable sustainable seafood. While aquaculture is a solution that is at our fingertips, it’s sadly one that the U.S. is not harnessing.
Because aquaculture has proven to be one of the most sustainable methods for producing animal protein, it has become the fastest growing food production sector in the world. Over half of the seafood consumed globally is farm-raised and by 2030, farmed seafood is anticipated to make up nearly two-thirds of our total seafood consumption…