Offshore Aquaculture

“Offshore aquaculture” is aquaculture that takes place in federal waters off the coasts of the United States and its territories. U.S. federal waters begin where state jurisdiction ends (for most states, that’s three nautical miles) and extend all the way out to the limit of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (200 nautical miles in most places). The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone covers an area equal to about 3.4 million square miles.
Because of the distance from shore, offshore aquaculture operations require technologies that can withstand open ocean conditions, exposed to wind and waves. Despite these technological challenges, the offshore has great potential for sustainable aquaculture for many reasons, including the fact that there are fewer competing uses further from shore and that the deep water and strong flow make the offshore a desirable location from a water quality standpoint.  Open ocean aquaculture in the U.S. is currently limited to a few submerged cage systems for finfish and submerged rope culture for shellfish, sited in state waters in New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii.

NOAA has supported innovative technologies to address technological and environmental issues associated with offshore aquaculture.  And the National Offshore Aquaculture Act addresses all the major concerns typically associated with offshore aquaculture.  However, some concerns remain, including escapement, disease, genetic integrity, and others.  The Office of Habitat Conservation works closely with the NOAA Aquaculture Program to support sustainable offshore aquaculture, via policy, guidance, outreach, and legislation.