United States. The U.S. per capita consump- 

 tion of seafood has risen from 12.5 pounds of 

 edible meat in 1980 to 15 pounds of edible 

 meat in 1993, a 20 percent increase. This is 

 due, in part, to the growing interest by Amer- 

 icans in the health and dietary benefits of 

 seafood. 



The aquaculture industry strives to provide 

 Americans with high quality, fresh, depend- 

 able, and nutritious seafood products. The 

 majority of 1991 sales were for fresh and froz- 

 en seafoods vs. caimed and cured (salted, 

 pickled, dried) fishery products. One exam- 

 ple is fresh or frozen shrimp which rose from 

 0.2 poimd per person in 1990 to 2.4 pounds 

 per person in 1991. Much of this growth was 

 suppUed by farm-raised shrimp. 



The Department of Commerce has projected 

 that U.S. consumption of seafood could in- 

 crease by 30 percent by the year 2000, requir- 

 ing an additional demand of one billion 

 pounds aimually. If this expansion occurs, 

 greater domestic aquacultxire production will 

 be required to help satisfy consumers' de- 

 mand for seafood. 



Farmed Species 



Overview 



Aquaculture species grown in the United 

 States include finfish (catfish, trout, salmon, 

 striped bass, tilapia, baitfish, ornamental fish, 

 and other species), crustaceans (crawfish, 

 shrimp, and others), mollusks (oysters, clams, 

 mussels, and others), and aquatic plants (in- 

 cluding seaweed). Producers in the United 

 States range from corporations employing 

 several hundred workers to small family 

 farms. 



About 12 to 14 percent of the seafood we 

 consume today is farm-raised. According to 

 USDA, this figure should double within 10 

 years. About one-half of the U.S. aquacul- 

 ture is catfish, but over 30 species are cul- 

 tured in the nation today. Crawfish is the 

 second largest domestically produced aqua- 

 cultxu-e species on a quantity basis. On a 

 value basis, crawfish ranks third, behind cat- 

 fish and trout. Marine aquaculture makes up 

 approximately 20 percent of U.S. aquacul- 

 ttire. 



In coordination with industry, the Federal 

 government places strong emphasis on qual- 

 ity assurance of aquaculture products. The 

 Joint Subcommittee on Aquaculture, a Fed- 

 eral Government-wide coordinating body of 

 23 representatives of 12 Departments or a- 

 gencies, established a Working Group on 

 Quality Assurance in Aquaculture Produc- 

 fion in 1990. This group consists of govern- 

 ment and industry representatives and ad- 

 dresses quality assurance issues in 

 aquaculture, including the use of drugs and 

 chemicals in aquaculture production. These 

 efforts will continue to ensiu-e quality of U.S. 

 aquaculture products for the consumer. 



Marine aquaculture in the United States is 

 dominated by salmon and oyster culture, 

 which represents about 80 percent of the to- 

 tal. Other species that make up the remain- 

 ing 20 percent are clams, mussels, and 

 shrimp. Abalone, red drum, scallops, and 

 striped bass are also being commercially pro- 

 duced to a lesser degree. 



Catfish . Catfish farming originated in the 

 southeastern United States in the late 1950's. 

 It is the largest aquaculture industry in the 

 United States. Today, about half of total U.S 

 aquaculture production comes from the cat- 

 fish industry. Advances in production tech- 

 nologies in the areas of genetic improve- 

 ments, feeds, aeration, and new strategies to 



