Lawmakers and ocean farming advocates are urging Congress to pass a measure expanding aquaculture production including in waters around Hawai‘i.
The Marine Aquaculture Research for America Act — or MARA Act — would establish an “Office of Aquaculture” within the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Aquaculture refers to enterprise that breeds and rears fish, much like cattle on land. Therefore, the Office of Aquaculture would allow businesses to apply for commercial-scale demonstration projects to prove their ability to raise marine life at scale without violating environmental regulations.
While the bill refers to these projects as “demonstration projects,” they would be permitted for 10 years, with the possibility of being extended for an additional decade at the discretion of the NMFS administrator.
The Office of Aquaculture would also establish “Aquaculture Centers of Excellence,” wherein certain colleges — pertinently, Native Hawaiian-serving academic institutions, per the bill — would be eligible for grant funding to support aquaculture education and curricula.
Hawai‘i Sen. Brian Schatz co-introduced the bill in July, saying at the time that developing offshore aquaculture is necessary to meet growing demand for seafood and can support coastal — or island-based — economies.
Since then, other lawmakers, including Hawai‘i Rep. Ed Case, have endorsed the bill. Case said of the bill that it dovetails with both the state’s and greater U.S.’ goals of diversifying their large-scale food production networks, and that aquaculture, if properly regulated, could transform food security.
“The lack of a clear and efficient permitting process for offshore aquaculture here in the U.S. has hindered the full potential of an American industry because it deters investment in offshore waters,” Case wrote in 2024 while attempting, unsuccessfully, to pass a similar bill. “Many investors simply take their capital overseas — bringing the jobs and revenue it produces with them.”
But the bill has progressed little since its introduction. It has been referred to the Senate’s Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, but has not been discussed at that committee.
Consequently, on Tuesday, two aquaculture advocacy coalitions — the Stronger America Through Seafood Coalition and the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture — sent a joint letter to that Senate committee urging the passage of the bill.
“Globally, open-ocean aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing and most sustainable forms of food production,” the letter read. “Yet, the United States imports the majority of our seafood, half of which is farmed overseas.”
The letter, signed by 140 Aquaculture businesses nationwide, including three in Hawai‘i, claimed that aquaculture could generate 22 million new jobs globally by 2050 and represents a $1.5 trillion investment opportunity.
Whether the letter will succeed in getting the Senate Commerce Committee to discuss the bill has yet to be seen. The committee’s next hearing is scheduled for Dec. 8, but its agenda only includes nominations of people to various boards.
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