How does aquaculture contribute to U.S. seafood production and the economy?

Editor/Mohamed Shihab

A recent study by Dr. Ganesh Kumar and co-authors involving aquaculture researchers from 11 different institutions and published in the Journal of the World Aquaculture Society discusses the economic contributions of aquaculture in the United States, and the linkages of aquaculture farming businesses with other economic sectors and how policy decisions that affect aquaculture result in economic ripples throughout local, regional, and national economies.

“U.S. aquaculture farms are highly diversified raising multitudes of species ranging from various foodfish, mollusks, crustaceans, baitfish, sportfish, ornamental fish and other aquatic plants and animals,” Dr. Ganesh Kumar, associate research professor at Mississippi State University and lead author of the study, told the Advocate. “The annual contribution of domestic aquaculture farms to the U.S. economy has not been estimated since 1996, and we employed primary farm-level data on expenditures and outputs to develop economic impact of U.S. aquaculture. Results of this research show that U.S. aquaculture farms contribute about $4 billion and support over 22,000 jobs annually.”