Aquaculture is the farming of fish, shellfish and aquatic plants. It accounts for nearly half of the seafood consumed worldwide, and production is growing at about 9 percent each year. Although aquaculture has the potential to be a sustainable alternative to wild-caught seafood, detrimental environmental impacts remain.
The aquaculture industry, both in this country and abroad, lacks rigorous standards aimed at protecting the marine environment. To address this problem, the Pew Environment Group is working with marine scientists and aquaculture specialists to develop a set of precautionary, science-based standards for use by the industry in producing farm raised marine fish.