The MS seafood industry faces possible shakeup from new aquaculture act. Here’s how
A new bipartisan bill aims to create opportunities for growth in the United States aquaculture industry, of which Mississippi is a leader, according to data.
The Marine Aquaculture Research for America Act, introduced Aug. 4 by U.S. Senators Roger Wicker, R-Miss., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, is the latest in the struggle over more access to offshore fish farming in the U.S.
“Aquaculture is an important part of Mississippi’s economic growth,” Sen. Wicker said in an Aug. 4 news release. “The Marine Aquaculture Research for America Act would cut red tape for job creators on the Gulf Coast and improve workforce development.”
Sen. Wicker was involved in similar legislation introduced in 2021, but it hasn’t gone through congress.
What does the MARA Act aim to accomplish?
1. Tasks the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with creating a program to research best practices for safe and sustainable offshore aquaculture.
2. Establishes a dedicated office within the NOAA to be responsible for research, federal permit reviews and regulation.
3. Funds programs for aquaculture workforce training and infrastructure.
What are people saying about the bill?
Hunter Evans — a James Beard finalist restaurant owner dubbed the 2019 Seafood King of Mississippi, according to Southern Living — expressed his support for the bill in the release.
“I’m excited about the potential to get more U.S.-produced seafood in my kitchen — and on the plates of the people I’m proud to cook for,” Evans said.
The Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture, an organization dedicated to increasing sustainable aquaculture, supported the bill’s introduction, according to their website.
“This legislation aligns with CSA’s mission to promote a science-based, stakeholder-led approach that ensures open ocean aquaculture is safe, sustainable, and grounded in scientific evidence,” the organization said in a statement.
Drue Banta Winters, campaign manager of Stronger America Through Seafood, a seafood production advocacy organization, thanked the senators for introducing the legislation, according to an Aug. 4 news release.
She said the bill would allow officials to “demonstrate how we can grow more of our own seafood here at home.”
The process of creating commercial operations in federal waters is currently extremely difficult for fish farmers because of expensive reviews and an unclear permitting framework and process, according to SATS.
Aquaculture in Mississippi
Mississippi leads the nation in aquaculture sales and ranks sixth for number of farms in the nation, according to the latest data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The state has been the leader in catfish production, raised in farms along the Mississippi River, since the 1980s, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
