Aquaculture
The U.S. aquaculture industry encompasses a wide range of products, including food fish, bait fish, shellfish, ornamental fish, and seaweed. U.S. aquaculture production totaled 768 million pounds in 1997, consisting largely of freshwater species (mainly catfish, trout, crawfish, tilapia, and striped bass), with a value of $934 million (Cicin-Sain et al., 2001).
Although still a small industry, aquaculture is forecast to have considerable market potential in the United States. In particular, the industry will compete with imported seafood (much of which is farm-raised), which now supplies more than half of our country’s annual demand for seafood. Net seafood imports, which exceed $6 billion annually, are among the top contributors to the U.S. trade deficit (Cicin-Sain et al., 2001).
In a number of states, the CZMA has been used as a planning tool for the proper siting and regulation of marine aquaculture facilities in order to avoid adverse impacts to other users, and to offer predictability to the industry. For example, Massachusetts has incorporated its aquaculture plan as part of its coastal zone management program .