First Annual Report on Aquaculture and Policy in the United States of America for the 2013 UJNR Panel

The first U.S. National Report on Aquaculture for the 41stU.S. Japan Natural ResourcesPanel on Aquaculture overviews major policy items, current trends in aquaculture production, andother important developments affecting contemporary U.S. aquaculture.　Policy- April 2013 saw the release of the National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan (NOP-IP), a document to translate President Obamaʼs 2010 National Ocean Policy (Executive Order13547 --Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes) to specific federal actions.Aquaculture featured prominently in the Implementation Plan. The Joint Sub-committee onAquaculture (JSA) was re-named the Interagency Working Group onAquaculture (IWG-A),and was tasked with identifying and supporting milestones in the NOP-IP. The NOP-IP alsosupported the National Shellfish Initiative to increase shellfishproduction and restoration in U.S.waters. NOAA and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councilare working on a FisheryManagement Plan to permit aquaculture in federal waters in theGulf of Mexico. The U.S.currently does not have a framework to permit aquaculture in the EEZ, and this would be a firstfor the U.S. if it goes into effect.　Developments- For the first time in some years, in 2013 many new sites for shellfish aquaculturehave been permitted. This is attributed to increased interest in shellfish aquaculture, particularlyin the northwest and northeast, federal interagency and state efforts on behalf of the WashingtonShellfish Initiative, and state-level successes at streamliningpermitting. In September 2013,the California Shellfish Initiative was launched. A program isunderway to permit and restoreHawaiian fishponds, a form of traditional Hawaiian aquaculture,for cultural heritage, subsistence,and possibly commercial production.　Production Trends- Aquaculture production in the U.S. is largely composed of catfish, crawfish,trout, salmon, oysters, mussels, clams, tilapia, and shrimp. For the 15-year period from 1996-2011,the value of U.S. aquaculture showed 3% average year-over-yeargrowth, though total volumefell by an average of 0.5%. Mariculture (salmon and shellfish),on the other hand, showed robust4% by volume and 5% by value year-over- year average growth inthe same period. 2011 is themost current year published aquaculture statistics are available. From 2010 to 2011, total U.S.aquaculture went down -18.8% by volume (to 277,335 metric tons)but grew 4.2% by value (to1.34billion dollars). From 2010 to 2011 mariculture decreasedby -12.4% by volume (to 35,739metric tons) while growing 0.3% by value (to 314 million dollars). However, in the previous yearfrom 2009-2010, mariculture grew 21.6% by volume (to 40,823 metric tons) and 28.5% by value (to312 million dollars). Most of the growth in value for marine aquaculture was from salmon (Salmosalar) and oyster (mainly Crassostrea gigas and Crassotrea virginica) production.