U.S. Targets Aquaculture Gridlock as Canada’s Seafood Farmers Stay Tangled in Red Tape

U.S. seafood leaders rally behind new legislation to expand ocean fish farming, while Canada struggles without a national framework for aquaculture.

By Fabian Dawson
SeaWestNews

Seafood leaders in the United States are converging on Washington this week, pressing lawmakers to break through decades of regulatory gridlock and finally establish a national framework for open ocean aquaculture.

The two-day Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) Fly-In, running September 10–11, will bring seafood executives from a wide range of companies to Capitol Hill to advocate for the Marine Aquaculture Research for America (MARA) Act of 2025.

The MARA Act seeks to streamline the patchwork of overlapping federal reviews and outdated permitting systems that have made it nearly impossible to develop commercial-scale fish farms in U.S. waters. The bipartisan bill, introduced by Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), would create a unified federal framework for ocean aquaculture for the first time. It has support from environmental groups, chefs, academics, and seafood companies.

“Federal legislation that supports open ocean aquaculture provides the U.S. a chance to prove that we can sustainably produce more seafood in our own ocean waters,” said Drue Banta Winters, SATS campaign manager.

“With strong bipartisan momentum growing for open ocean aquaculture, we are hopeful that congressional lawmakers will recognize the need to pass legislation to support growth of U.S. aquaculture.”

Currently, the U.S. ranks 18th globally in seafood production, importing most of the seafood consumed domestically, half of it from fish farms overseas.

Lisa Wallenda Picard, CEO of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), said the U.S. has fallen behind due to excessive regulatory barriers.

“The ‘Marine Aquaculture Research for America (MARA) Act’ will help get commercial open ocean aquaculture started so it can benefit not only jobs but the health of everyday Americans,” she said.

While the U.S. industry pushes for a federal framework, Canada remains the only major farmed seafood producing nation without national aquaculture legislation.

For more than a decade, Canada’s aquaculture sector, particularly salmon farmers in British Columbia, has been calling for a Federal Aquaculture Act to establish clear, consistent rules and reduce uncertainty for investors and coastal communities.

A Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) report described how such legislation could improve coordination between federal and provincial governments, simplify cross-provincial operations, and ensure science-based management practices.

“The Act would clarify federal leadership, strengthen partnerships with Indigenous and coastal communities, and create a transparent system for managing aquaculture growth,” the report stated.

Despite nationwide consultations in 2019 and support from industry groups, progress on the Aquaculture Act has stalled in Ottawa. This has left aquaculture governed by three separate regulatory systems across the country, creating a patchwork of rules and significant uncertainty, especially in B.C., where salmon farmers have no clear or predictable path for tenure and license renewals.

The Canadian Aquaculture Industry Alliance (CAIA) said seafood farmers are united in their call for the timely passage of the country’s first national aquaculture law.

“A Federal Aquaculture Act would set clear, consistent standards for aquaculture farming across the country, and allow for much greater federal-provincial coordination in how our industry is managed. This will simplify cross-provincial operations and focus attention on creating sound, science-based rules,” it said.

In British Columbia, a Federal Aquaculture Act is seen as crucial for long-term stability. With a clear framework, the sector could generate $2.5 billion in annual economic output and 9,000 jobs by 2030, growing to $4.2 billion and more than 16,000 jobs by 2040.

For that to happen, the federal government must first reverse its activist-driven plan to phase out open-net pen salmon farming by 2029 and take concrete steps to make the Aquaculture Act a reality, say industry leaders and their First Nations partners.

Main Aquaculture Image courtesy of SATS.