U.S. aquaculture production is growing because demands for healthy seafood products are increasing.
Global stocks of wild-caught seafood have remained stable over the last 20 years, and a growing world population projected to reach over 9 billion in 2050 is expected to exacerbate the demand for seafood products. USDA is providing leadership to ensure that a healthy, competitive, and sustainable aquaculture sector can produce an abundant, safe, and affordable supply of seafood products. USDA activities include:
- supporting economic development that creates jobs and opportunities in rural communities;
- designing aquaculture production systems that use aquatic resources for farming while maintaining healthy ecosystems;
- supporting and conducting research, education, and extension activities that train a skilled work force and support the development of new aquaculture technologies;
- overseeing aquatic animal health; and
- providing marketing programs that educate consumers on the nutritional benefits of seafood products and the sustainable management of responsible aquaculture production.
Given USDA’s extensive portfolio of programs supporting aquaculture, the Office of the Chief Scientist, agencies in the Research, Education, and Economics mission area, and the USDA Working Group on Aquaculture sought to provide the domestic aquaculture industry an opportunity to communicate on how USDA can best serve this farming community. In November 2020 USDA agency representatives, as part of an Aquaculture is Agriculture Colloquium, held six virtual “Deep Dive” listening sessions (in addition to an APHIS-WS special webinar for shellfish farmers) to engage stakeholders on the subjects below.
|
Deep Dive Topic |
Event Information |
|---|---|
|
Aquaculture Production Research |
November 30, 2020: hosted by NIFA and co-hosted by ARS |
|
Aquatic Animal Health |
November 10, 2020: hosted by APHIS and co-hosted by ARS and NIFA |
|
Environmental Management |
November 9, 2020: hosted by NRCS and co-hosted by APHIS, ARS, NIFA, and OCE |
|
Production Innovation and Technology |
November 20, 2020: hosted by NIFA and co-hosted by ARS and ERS |
|
Product and Consumer Marketing |
November 20, 2020: hosted by AMS and FNS |
|
Supporting Aquaculture |
November 16, 2020: hosted by RD, FSA, and RMA |
|
Bird Management and Coastal Shellfish Production |
February 17, 2021: Hosted by APHIS-WS |
These sessions were attended by representatives from USDA, other government agencies, academia, and the private sector. On December 11, 2020, USDA hosted a “Aquaculture is Agriculture: USDA’s Role in Supporting the Farmers of Fish, Shellfish, and Aquatic Plants” (videos 14-22) webinar including plenary presentations from USDA leadership and industry representatives and report-outs from listening session hosts on feedback provided to USDA. The Colloquium provided context for both stakeholders and USDA leadership on how to strengthen domestic aquaculture. USDA leaders and scientists heard directly from aquaculture stakeholders—farmers, scientists, and supporting industries—on prioritized industry research needs, critical needs for resource investments, and how accountability for these investments could be evaluated.
A white paper (PDF, 546 KB) summarizing these events and stakeholder recommendations for how USDA can best serve aquaculture stakeholders can be found here. The agenda for the plenary webinar is below, including links to presentation recordings.
Aquaculture is Agriculture
December 11, 2020 Webinar
| Time | Presentations |
|---|---|
|
9:00 am |
Mary Dee Beal, Former Senior Advisor to the Secretary |
|
9:30 am |
Aquaculture Aligns with the Ag Innovation Agenda and the Science Blueprint Dr. Peggy Biga, Office of the Chief Scientist |
|
9:50 am |
USDA’s Role in Updating the National Aquaculture Development Plan Dr. Jeffrey Silverstein, Agricultural Research Service |
|
10:10 am |
Aquaculture Intersects with Agriculture Dr. Dan Northrup, Benson Hill |
|
10:30 am |
Economic Development through Aquaculture Andrew Jermolowicz, Rural Development |
|
10:50 am |
What U.S. Aquaculture Needs from USDA: Aquatic Plants Stephanie Showalter-Otts, J.D. University of Mississippi School of Law |
|
11:10 am |
What U.S. Aquaculture Needs from USDA: Finfish Jim Parsons, Cooke USA |
|
11:30 am |
What U.S. Aquaculture Needs from USDA: Shellfish Bill Dewey, Taylor Shellfish |
|
11:50 am |
Dr. Caird Rexroad, Agricultural Research Service |
|
12:00 pm |
Aquaculture Production Research Dr. Amrit Bart and Christopher Green, National Institute for Food and Agriculture |
|
12:10 pm |
Aquatic Health Dr. Kathleen Hartman, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service |
|
12:20 pm |
Environmental Management Dr. Gene Kim and Jan Surface, Natural Resources Conservation Service |
|
12:30 pm |
Production Innovation and Technology Dr. Tim Sullivan, and Christopher Green, National Institute for Food and Agriculture |
|
12:40 pm |
Product and Consumer Marketing Dr. Carl Schroeder, Agricultural Marketing Service |
|
12:50 pm |
Supporting Aquaculture Andrew Jermolowicz, Rural Development; Christopher Vazquez, Farm Service Agency; and Alex Sereno, Risk Management Agency |
|
1:00 pm |
Closing Dr. Peggy Biga, Office of the Chief Scientist |
For more information, please contact:
Caird Rexroad
USDA ARS National Program Leader for Aquaculture
caird.rexroadiii@usda.gov