The initiative will provide the US aquaculture sector with access to comprehensive economic and market research.
Photo by Aileen Devlin / Virginia Sea Grant.
A coalition of researchers, led by Virginia Tech and supported by Virginia Sea Grant, has been awarded a nearly $1 million federal grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Sea Grant to address economic and marketing gaps within the U.S. aquaculture industry.
The project includes founding the Aquaculture Economics and Markets Collaborative, which aims to support informed decision-making and ensure the long-term sustainability of the domestic aquaculture sectors.
The aim of the initiative is to enhance domestic U.S. aquaculture by reducing dependency on seafood imports, thereby improving food security and addressing the significant U.S. trade deficit in seafood, which reached $20.3 billion in 2023.
"The challenges faced by U.S. aquaculture, from regulatory complexity and stringency to rising input costs, create a complex economic reality for producers," said principal investigator Jonathan van Senten, a seafood economist at Virginia Tech, in an article posted on the Virginia Tech website.
"Producers in U.S. aquaculture sectors are incredibly resilient and play a pivotal role in providing a wide variety of aquatic species to both food and recreational markets using diverse production systems," van Senten said. "However, they also have to navigate a challenging economic landscape to establish and sustain successful businesses.”
The initiative will provide access to comprehensive economic and market research, utilizing tools such as retail scanner data to gain insights into seafood product trends.
This effort builds upon previous research funded by NOAA Sea Grant, aiming to update business planning tools for a wider range of species and production systems across the U.S., including Pacific Islands.
The project also emphasizes the development of training and extension resources to support economic sustainability and will involve workshops, videos, and materials in English and Spanish for broad accessibility.
Project collaborators, representing a diverse geographical and expertise range, aim to bridge gaps between researchers, industry leaders, and extension services across the U.S., including regions like Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
Participating institutions include Virginia Tech, Mississippi State University, Texas A&M University, University of Hawaii at Hilo, University of Maryland, University of Alaska, Morgan State University, Maine Aquaculture Association, University of Guam, and University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez.
