Aquaculture is nothing but the farming of aquatic organisms like plants, shellfish and fish. However aquaculture is directed in marine, freshwater and land-based facilities. Across the world, aquaculture production is anticipated to grow to almost 170,000,000 metric tons and increase by around 20%. In addition, universal aquaculture is projected to increase the wild harvest food fisheries in year 2018 and contain around 50% of the production of food fish.

New England aqua culturists are interested in contributing to the growth, captivating the benefit of financial activity entailing and assisting with the universal efforts for feeding the growing population of world. However, mari

Aquaculture is nothing but the farming of aquatic organisms like plants, shellfish and fish. However aquaculture is directed in marine, freshwater and land-based facilities. Across the world, aquaculture production is anticipated to grow to almost 170,000,000 metric tons and increase by around 20%. In addition, universal aquaculture is projected to increase the wild harvest food fisheries in year 2018 and contain around 50% of the production of food fish.

New England aqua culturists are interested in contributing to the growth, captivating the benefit of financial activity entailing and assisting with the universal efforts for feeding the growing population of world. However, marine aquaculture is the manufacturing of organisms, comprising, finfish, shellfish, seaweed or macro algae, echinoderms and crustaceans in marine and tidal waters are present in the federal Exclusive Economic Zone and state waters. Nowadays, marine aquaculture in England is in state waters. However, this is because of the number of factors involving vicinity to shore side infrastructure, operation in EEZ, deprived of the regulatory structure for aquaculture leasing and the sheltered conditions comparative to the offshore waters. Thus, the interest by federal government agencies and aqua culturists in emerging production and processes leases in the offshore waters.

There is less public opposition to the offshore aquaculture leases because of less conflicting uses of clean water, marine environment and some problems related to the anthropogenic impacts common in the shore environment. However, in New England, the operation of mussel aquaculture is going through the review procedure in the federal waters off northern Massachusetts. As aqua culturists in New England contributing in the restoration of aquaculture using the aquaculture techniques for restoring some component of the aquatic ecosystem. The main instance of restoring aquaculture is the rebuilding of oyster reefs for the enhancement of water quality, offering protection to shore zone and improve the populations of natural oyster. However, other instances are hatcheries to restore plant production facilities or wild fish populations for providing eelgrass for the restoration of ecosystem.

Shellfish Aquaculture in New England

Shellfish aquaculture is common and prevalent in New England, around 1500 permits, leases and licenses for the place-based aquaculture. Permits, licenses and leases are terms recognized in regulations or law to agree place-based aquaculture in several states. However, they are providing the time period of constrained or exclusive use of area with the security of shellfish stock in area. The price of shellfish aquaculture in New England is within USD 45 and USD 50 Mn of port value at the time of first sale with the oysters being the valuable product is increased.

Shellfish aquaculture is the business of minor, family possessed companies in New England. Whereas several aqua culturists are coming from the fishing communities and families with the current industry applicants considering the economic diversification from the wild harvest fisheries that are engaged in. 

Marine Finfish Aquaculture in New England

The huge majority of finfish aquaculture in New England is salmon aquaculture in Maine. Whereas the other finfish aquaculture in New England involves halibut and cod in Maine and steelhead trout, cod, halibut, black sea bass and haddock in New Hampshire. However, the finfish aquaculture sectors in New England are producing around 20 Mn pounds of fish, completely Atlantic salmon, with the market value of around USD 74 Mn. Thus, the production is coming from the small companies due to the Atlantic salmon production of aquaculture in US is held by the Cooke Aquaculture, New Brunswick based company. Many of the other finfish aquaculture companies are the small operations having the investment backing and interest in the aquaculture coming from people that are the current fishermen comprising commercial fishing.

Factors encouraging the cod aquaculture comprises of production costs, absence of appropriate broodstock and the competition of cost with the wild harvest cod and the similar species. Halibut aquaculture are allowed in Maine whereas full-scale commercial operations are likely needing sea cages with hatchery and growth conducted on land. Halibut aquaculture in the rest of New England might develop experimentally or start the operations. 

Aquaculture of other species

Manufacturing of seaweed or macro algae on the sites of aquaculture is taking place in New Hampshire and Maine for the production of food and the polyculture where plants are growing in the collaboration with finfish or shellfish.

Regulations and Rules

National Aquaculture Policy Act18

In 1980, National Aquaculture Policy Act are making the national policy for promoting the production and industry of aquaculture, recognized the plan of national aquaculture policy implementation, influences the activities of private and public aquaculture and creates the Department of Agriculture as the federal agency for the information of aquaculture.

Even though the law containing requirements, setting the quality for agencies, companies, researchers and states for promoting policies and expenses to develop the interests of aquaculture industry and enhance the production of aquaculture. However, National Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Act are following the spirit of law for the development and promotion of sustainable aquaculture in US. As there are several bills acquainted in Congress for defining the policies of Nation’s aquaculture, comprising the authorizing of aquaculture observed in the expansion of marine aquaculture.

Policy

National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan

National Ocean Policy is developed by the Administration identifying that stewardship of America’s coasts and oceans is linking to the environmental sustainability, national prosperity, social justice, human health and reworking to climate & environmental change. However, the National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan is prepared for providing the coordinated implementation of ocean policy at Federal Level, recognizing the aquaculture. NOAA are progressing on allowing the efficacies in the shellfish aquaculture with USACOE moving towards the programmatic license for the daily leases, relating models developed in Virginia and Maryland.

Programs

National Shellfish Sanitation Program

The NSSP (National Shellfish Sanitation Program) is the state/ federal cooperative program identified by U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and the ISSC (Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference) for the sanitary controller of shellfish generated and traded for human consumption. Hence, the determination of NSSP are improving and promoting the sanitation of shellfish touching in the interstate commerce by state/ federal cooperation and the uniformity of the program of State Shellfish. The NSSP are affecting the production of shellfish in US, comprising of shellfish aquaculture. However, the public health provisions of NSSP are significantly impacting the producers of aquaculture in New England by the closures of growing area, labeling and requirements of product handling.