Research

Offshore Aquaculture Kept Afloat With Government Funding

Published on November 19, 2007 - Fact Sheets: The U.S. Department of Commerce strongly supports the National Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2007 and its purported promise for the nation’s economy. The department manages marine resources through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and promotes new technology through the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Offshore Aquaculture: Bad News for the Gulf

Published on October 23, 2007 - Reports: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been promoting offshore aquaculture — growing fish in nets or cages between three and 200 miles from shore — as the best way to increase U.S. seafood output. Now, NOAA wants to establish this large-scale fish farming off the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast.

Open Ocean Aquaculture: Chemicals of Concern to Human Health and the Environment

Published on October 19, 2007 - Fact Sheets: The 2007 National Offshore Aquaculture Act would allow open ocean aquaculture, or fish farming, from three to 200 miles off of U.S. coasts. Below is a list of chemicals that are already approved for use in the production of fish raised in off-shore cages. If the industry develops, pharmaceutical and aquaculture companies can be expected to petition federal agencies to approve a broader range of chemicals, creating additional concerns for consumer health and the environment.

Import Alert: Government Fails Consumers, Falls Short on Seafood Inspections

Published on May 30, 2007 - Reports: The Food and Drug Administration oversees the safety of seafood imports. However, inadequate funding and a mediocre inspection program contributed to the federal government agency physically inspecting less than two percent of the 860,000 imported seafood shipments in 2006. Only 0.59 percent of shipments were tested for contaminants in a laboratory. Import Alert: Government Fails Consumers, Falls Short on Seafood Inspection, looks at data from FDA import refusals of seafood shipments at the border and identifies trends in the data from 2003 to 2006 and highlights issues related to imports of shrimp, the most popular seafood among U.S. consumers.