New Poll Finds Majority of Voters Support Aquaculture & and the Need for Congress to Act to Expand Sustainable Seafood Production
A new survey commissioned by Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) ahead of Capitol Hill Ocean Week, June 7-9, found that a majority of voters support establishing a U.S. aquaculture industry to increase sustainable seafood production.
“Now is the time for Congress to act and put in place federal policies that would establish an aquaculture industry in U.S. federal waters – and the majority of voters agree. According to our recent survey, more than two thirds – stated they would feel more favorable toward a member of Congress who established pathways for offshore aquaculture so the U.S. could benefit from the economic and environmental benefits that aquaculture provides. As SATS members meet with congressional offices this week during Capitol Hill Oceans Week, we will continue to urge Congress to act swiftly to put a clear regulatory pathway in place for American aquaculture,” said SATS campaign manager Sarah Brenholt.
According to the survey of 1,020 likely voters conducted by Echelon Insights on May 20-23, 2022, the takeaways are:
Learning that the U.S. is missing opportunities for jobs and creating a strong economy drives 87% of voters to consider aquaculture important.
Among voters, 84% support establishing a clear, predictable pathway for U.S. aquaculture when learning many American companies build aquaculture operations abroad, and 86% believe it’s important to expand U.S. aquaculture when learning the U.S imports most of its seafood.
86% of voters believe it’s important to expand U.S. aquaculture when learning that it’s a low impact means to feed a growing population, and 85% believe it’s important to expand U.S. when learning that aquaculture is a sustainable industry that provides climate-friendly protein from the ocean.
Two thirds of voters would feel more favorable towards a member of Congress who established pathways for offshore aquaculture.
Over 6-in-10 voters (65% GOP, 67% Democrat) would feel more favorable toward their member of Congress if he or she were to support increased access to offshore opportunities for American businesses.
Aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production sector, supplying half of the seafood consumed globally, but the U.S. ranks only 16th in aquaculture production. The annual output of the American aquaculture industry, valued at $1.5 billion, is only 0.6% of the $263 billion global aquaculture market. As a result of the seafood deficit, the U.S. imports up to 85% of the seafood we consume.
The lack of a clear and predictable policy framework for permitting offshore aquaculture hinders growth of an American industry because it deters investment in the U.S. Federal legislation is needed to establish a policy framework that supports growth of American aquaculture production and creates a thriving U.S. aquaculture industry that can compete on the global stage.
Current legislation in Congress, The AQUAA Act (H.R.6258/S.3100), which has bipartisan support in both the U.S. House and Senate, would establish National Standards for offshore aquaculture and clarify a regulatory system for the farming of fish in the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ).
For full survey results, please visit: https://tinyurl.com/SATSAquaculturePoll.
Survey Methodology: The May 2022 Echelon Insights Verified Voter Omnibus was fielded online from May 20-23, 2022 in English among a sample of N=1,020 voters in the Likely Electorate (LV) nationwide using non-probability sampling. The sample was drawn from the Lucid sample exchange and matched to the L2 voter file. Calculated the way it would be for a random sample and adjusted to incorporate the effect of weighting, the margin of sampling error is +/- 3.7 percentage points.