National Marine Fisheries Service
11/13/2024 | News release | Archived content
Identifying Aquaculture Opportunity Areas in California and the Gulf of Mexico
As part of NOAA's mission to foster ocean sustainability while facilitating domestic aquaculture growth, NOAA is working to identify Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. These areas were evaluated for their potential environmental, economic, and social suitability to support multiple commercial aquaculture operations. This process is rooted in science and public engagement that will help the U.S. plan for aquaculture development.
Today, NOAA released two draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statements for Southern California and the Gulf of Mexico that bring us one step closer to identifying Aquaculture Opportunity Areas.
Southern California Aquaculture Opportunity Areas Identification Process
In Southern California, NOAA experts identified up to ten proposed Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. Eight proposed Aquaculture Opportunity Areas are in the Santa Barbara Channel and two are in Santa Monica Bay, ranging in size from 500 to 2,000 acres each. The total of the proposed Aquaculture Opportunity areas amounts to 16,500 acres in Federal waters that are potentially suitable to support all kinds of aquaculture.
Read the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.
Comment on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Southern California
- Public comments can be submitted online from November 22, 2024 through February 20, 2025.
- Attend a public listening session hosted by NOAA's Aquaculture Program on:
Gulf of Mexico Aquaculture Opportunity Areas Identification Process
In the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA experts identified four proposed Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. One proposed Aquaculture Opportunity Area is off the coast of Louisiana and three are off the coast of Texas, ranging in size from 500 to 2,000 acres each. The total of the proposed Aquaculture Opportunity Areas amounts to 6,500 acres in Federal waters that are potentially suitable for all kinds of aquaculture.
View the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement.
Comment on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for the Gulf of Mexico