US Aquaculture 2026: America's Seafood Revolution in Fish Farms & Oceans

SUSTAINABILITY AWAKENING US AQUACULTURE 2026 America's Seafood Revolution: Fish Farms, Ocean Cages & a Food Secure Future 90% of US seafood is imported. Can American fish farming change that? 10 Facts About the Industry Reshaping American Food

1 OF 10 America's Seafood Dependency 90% of US seafood is imported $22 billion in seafood imports in 2025 Top sources: China, Canada, India, Chile Americans eat 16+ lbs of seafood per year Demand growing 3% annually — supply can't keep up

2 OF 10 Aquaculture: Farming the Water Fish, shellfish, seaweed & algae farming 3 major types in the USA: • Marine (offshore cages in ocean) • Freshwater (catfish, trout, tilapia ponds) • Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) RAS: Indoor land-based fish factories — no ocean needed, 95% water recycled The future of sustainable US protein

3 OF 10 Indoor Salmon: The $1B US Revolution AquaBounty: First GMO salmon FDA-approved Indiana land-based farm: 10,000 tons/year Atlantic Sapphire: 10,000 tons by 2031 Miami, Florida mega-farm under construction No antibiotics. No sea lice. No ocean impact. Uses 95% less water than traditional farming Carbon footprint: 50% less than Norway imports Fresh salmon — grown 1,500 miles from any ocean

4 OF 10 Oyster Farming: Healing America's Coasts One oyster filters 50 gallons of water per day US oyster aquaculture: $250M annually States leading: Virginia, Washington, Maine Chesapeake Bay: 800 oyster farms restoring estuary Environmental benefits: • Nitrogen removal from coastal waters • Habitat for juvenile fish and birds The most eco-positive protein you can eat

5 OF 10 NOAA's Bold Aquaculture Vision Offshore aquaculture: US EEZ (200 miles) Currently: permits required from 5+ agencies AQUAA Act: One-stop federal permitting NOAA 2026 goal: triple US aquaculture output $800M in federal aquaculture R&D 2022-2026 Blue Economy initiative: 5M jobs by 2035 Offshore fish farms: Gulf of Mexico, Hawaii America is sleeping on a $20B opportunity

6 OF 10 American Seaweed: The Next Superfood Crop US seaweed farming still tiny — but exploding Why seaweed farming matters: • No freshwater, fertilizer or land needed • Absorbs CO2 and excess nutrients • Food, biofuel, fertilizer, packaging Maine & Alaska: pioneer states for seaweed Market projected: $11.8B globally by 2030 Could be America's most sustainable crop

7 OF 10 America's Traditional Aquaculture Belt Catfish: #1 US aquaculture species by volume Mississippi Delta: 50,000 acres of catfish ponds Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana $400M annual catfish industry value Trout farming: Idaho leads, $65M industry Tilapia: fastest growing warmwater species Challenge: Chinese imports undercut prices Buy American seafood: it creates local jobs

8 OF 10 The Real Sustainability Challenge Not all aquaculture is equal: ☓ Open net pens leak disease & waste ☓ Salmon farms use 5 lbs of fish feed per lb gain ☓ Shrimp ponds destroy mangrove forests Best practices emerging: ✔ RAS systems: zero water discharge ✔ Integrated multi-trophic aquaculture ✔ Certification: ASC, BAP, Seafood Watch

9 OF 10 Aquaculture & the American Blue Economy $1.5 Billion current US aquaculture farm-gate value Potential with full development: $20 Billion Coastal community job creation: • Gulf of Mexico offshore farms: 100K jobs • Inland RAS: manufacturing + tech jobs • Seaweed: rural coastal economies revived

10 OF 10 America's Seafood Future Starts Now Growing our own seafood reduces imports, creates jobs, and cuts food miles by thousands of miles. What you can do: Buy domestic, certified sustainable seafood. Look for ASC or Best Aquaculture Practices seals. SUSTAINABILITY AWAKENING sustainabilityawakening.com Follow for daily environmental insights