Over 84% of the seafood we consume in the United States is imported and of that
50% is from aquaculture. We are currently dependent on other countries for our
seafood. The bottom line is we need a lot more domestic aquaculture in order to
keep up with demand and we are falling far behind the rest of the world.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the
Department of Commerce released complementary draft national aquaculture
policies that support sustainable marine aquaculture in the United States. The
intent of the policies is to guide Commerce and NOAAs actions and decisions on
aquaculture and to provide a national approach for supporting sustainable
aquaculture. The public is invited to comment on both draft policies for the next 60
days.

We are asking for everyone to comment on this policy, with the goal of increasing
aquaculture in the United States. Click here for the policy and click here to leave a
public comment.

If you are interested in learning more, the NOAA Aquaculture Program will host a
series of informational briefings for stakeholders interested the policies. The
briefings are as follows:

Feb. 23, 2011
10:00 - 11:00 a.m. (Eastern)
Call-in # - 800-369-1823
Passcode: Aquaculture
4:00 - 5:00 p.m. (Eastern)
Call-in # - 800-369-1823
Passcode: Aquaculture