Since 1910, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has calculated the nation’s seafood consumption rates to keep consumers and the industry informed about trends in seafood consumption and trade.

According to this year’s report, Americans consumed a total of 4.908 billion pounds of seafood in 2007, slightly less than the 4.944 billion pounds in 2006. The average American ate 16.3 pounds of fish and shellfish in 2007, a one percent decline from the 2006 consumption figures of 16.5 pounds. But even though U.S. seafood consumption is flat, global consumption continues to grow; a major study in the journal Science predicts the global collapse of the world’s major fisheries by the middle of this century. Already, over the past 50 years, there has been a 90 percent reduction of the ocean’s large predatory fish, including sharks, swordfish and tuna.

What most concerns NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the Department of Commerce, is the growth in imported farm-raised seafood coupled with declines global fishstocks. The nation imports about 84 percent of its seafood, a steadily increasing proportion. Imports accounted for only 63 percent of U.S. seafood just a decade ago.

“While NOAA works to end overfishing and rebuild wild fish stocks, the U.S. also needs more sustainable domestic aquaculture to help meet consumer demand for healthy seafood and narrow the foreign trade gap,” said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “The National Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2007, pending before Congress, would provide a clear permitting process for businesses and individuals to develop safe, sustainable aquaculture in U.S. federal waters.”





Ecological impacts of aquaculture

At least half of the seafood imported to the U.S. is farmed. Aquaculture production in the rest of the world has expanded dramatically in the last 30 years and now supplies half of the world seafood demand, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. America’s aquaculture industry, currently meets only 5 to 7 percent of U.S. demand for seafood, and most of that is catfish. Despite the low percentage as a total of U.S. consumption, aquaculture still represents the fastest-growing sector in the American agricultural sector.

Many of the aquaculture farms operate without a negative impact on the environment. In fact, catfish, tilapia, and freshwater carp can convert harmful organic wastes into edible fish meal. But the ecological

impact of some types of aquaculture have groups urging caution in the growth of the industry.

For example, the farming of shrimp and salmon has been found to be particularly damaging to the environment. When the cages are crowded, uneaten feed, fish wastes and antibiotics are released from the cages. As a source of nutrient pollution, these wastes create high levels of nutrients that increase the growth of phytoplankton and algae. The eventual degradation of algae drastically reduces the levels of oxygen in the water.

In salmon aquaculture, one of the primary concerns has been preventing escapes of farmed fish into the ocean where they can spread disease and out-compete native fish for marine habitat. The floating netcages that confine the farmed fish are usually stocked at high densities to maximize profit, creating conditions that are conducive to outbreaks of contagious diseases and parasites. A number of viral and bacterial pathogens have plagued the industry that at times destroy thousands of farmed fish.

For the reasons stated above, one can see why NOAA’s fisheries arm wants legislation in place to provide greater levels of regulatory guidance for the marine aquaculture industry. However, as long as foreign-raised fish is cheaper, it will continue to outsell the domestically-farmed varieties. It seems that once again our penchant for “free trade” is incongruous with our desire to implement environmental regulations; begging the question, while domestic guidance is important, wouldn’t an international framework that established best practices for aquaculture be better?

Other posts about fishing and marine sustainability:

Photo: 1. Bay Photographic via flickr – under a Creative Commons License; 2. L’eau Bleue via flickr under a Creative Commons License.

