Blue Ocean Mariculture indigenous Hawaiian Kanpachi farm, near Keahole Point in Kona, Hawaii, the only offshore mariculture farm in the United States.
Photo: Blue Ocean Mariculture / Cuna del Mar.
Two US pro-aquaculture coalitions, Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) and the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture, have jointly submitted a letter to Congressional committee leaders calling for them to pass the Marine Aquaculture Research and Advancement (MARA) Act of 2025.
Announcing the move in a recent joint press release, the groups stated the letter was endorsed by 140 supporters of offshore aquaculture, including figures from the seafood sector, environmental groups, academia and the culinary industry.
Together, the two organisations represent a number of major aquaculture industry players, with SATS counting Cargill, Innovasea, High Liner Foods, Cuna del Mar, and Ocean 14 Capital among its membership, while the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture includes Aqua-Spark, Tidal, SAGE, Pine Island Redfish, and Blue Ocean Mariculture, currently the only offshore mariculture farm in the US.
SATS campaign manager Drue Banta Winters said the United States already has the “science and technology, ocean resources and skilled seafood workforce to lead in sustainable seafood production," restating SATS' position that the MARA Act “would put in place a pathway to allow us to demonstrate that we can grow more of our seafood here at home both responsibly and sustainably.”
Meanwhile, Maddie Voorhees, lead for the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture and U.S. Aquaculture Campaign Director at US-based nonprofit the Environmental Defense Fund, said the legislation would mark “a pivotal step toward ensuring that aquaculture in U.S. federal waters is guided by sound science, transparency, and a commitment to ocean health.”
“This bill is an important step toward harnessing scientific innovation and sound environmental practices to meet our seafood needs while protecting marine ecosystems. By leading with science, we can establish standards that prioritize both the health of our oceans and the resilience of our coastal communities,” she said.
As previously reported by WeAreAquaculture, the bipartisan bill was introduced by Senators Roger Wicker and Brian Schatz and Representatives Mike Ezell, Ed Case, Kat Cammack and Jimmy Panetta, aiming to establish a more structured, science-based approach to offshore aquaculture development in the USA - with a particular focus on "commercial-scale demonstration projects".
According to its supporters, the MARA Act would formalise NOAA’s Office of Aquaculture as the lead agency for permitting, aiming to simplify the permits process, create economic opportunities for coastal communities, and invest in training programmes for future workers in the sector - including through "Aquaculture Centers of Excellence" at educational institutions.
"The bill’s inclusion of science-based demonstration projects is an essential step toward understanding how open ocean aquaculture can expand while maintaining strong environmental safeguards. These projects will generate the data needed to guide responsible growth, protect ocean health, and strengthen public trust in U.S. aquaculture," SATS contends.
The groups also argue that the benefits of the proposed legislation will extend beyond coastal fishing and aquaculture communities to inland agriculture, through increased demand for plant-based aquafeed ingredients, as well as opening up new market opportunities for the broader supply chain, such as hatcheries, equipment manufacturers, seafood processors, retailers and export companies.
