Aquaculture and capture fisheries provide a significant source of protein and economic activity for people in the United States and other countries. U.S. commercial fisheries landings and value in 2023 were 8.5 billion pounds and $5.1 billion, a decrease of 9% relative to 2018 (National Marine Fisheries Service, 2020; National Marine Fisheries Service, 2025).

Commercially important fisheries include salmon, lobsters, crabs, Alaska pollock, and sea scallops (National Marine Fisheries Service, 2024). While wild capture fisheries have decreased slightly over the past several years, the value of aquaculture production has increased substantially. United States aquaculture production in 2023 was valued at $1.9 billion, representing a 26% increase from the 2018 production value (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2024). U.S. aquaculture production contributed $3.8 billion in output to the U.S. economy in 2022 (Kumar et al., 2024). The most valuable aquaculture products are catfish, oysters, clams, trout, and crawfish. Between 2018 and 2023, the share of U.S. seafood production from aquaculture by value increased from 21% to 27% (National Marine Fisheries Service, 2025; U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2024). The increasing role of aquaculture production is expected to continue, as consumer demand for seafood continues to rise.

At the same time, the U.S. is the world’s largest importer of seafood by value, with over 85% of total domestic consumption originating outside the country (NMFS, 2025). There is no doubt that the U.S. seafood market is dominated by imports. This situation has emerged because domestic seafood production - both wild-caught and aquaculture - has been unable to meet the increasing aggregate demand and per capita consumption of seafood (Shamshak et al., 2019). U.S. fishery stocks are essentially fully utilized and well-managed to avoid overfishing, which has resulted in relatively stable annual production of approximately 5 million metric tons (mt) since the late 1980s (Garlock et al., 2020a). As late as 1975, the U.S. was the world’s third-largest aquaculture producer; however, domestic production growth has not kept pace with global trends (FAO, 2018), with production peaking at just over 600,000 metric tons in 2004. Global aquaculture production has expanded rapidly since then, while U.S. aquaculture production declined to just over 400,000 mt in 2017 (Garlock et al., 2020a), before rebounding to approximately 478,000 mt in 2022 (FAO, 2024). Most of the increase in U.S. seafood demand since the 1980s has been met through imports, which have nearly tripled to just over 3 million metric tons in 2022 (National Marine Fisheries Service, 2024).

While low-cost foreign producers have captured significant market share in competitive, high-volume segments of the seafood market (Anderson et al., 2018), a shift in the tide that could benefit domestic producers may be on the horizon. Recent studies suggest that consumer demand exists for seafood that is differentiated by specific quality, production process, and origin attributes (Garlock et al., 2020b; Martino et al., 2023). There is also evidence that niche-oriented clusters with local suppliers can improve competitiveness in the domestic aquaculture industry in other countries (Asche, 2008). This type of industry structure can create new opportunities for the U.S. aquaculture sector. Hawaiian seafood producers, including both aquaculture and capture fisheries, have been able to more effectively compete with imports, as Hawaiian production accounts for approximately half of the state's seafood consumption (Loke et al., 2012). In Rhode Island oyster aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing seafood sector industries with an estimated net value of approximately $8.8 million (RI Coastal Resources Management Council, 2024), and in Florida, shellfish aquaculture has been highly successful and led to the growth of a network of complementary firms around the industry (Marcillo-Yepez et al., 2025). There is growing recognition that local seafood production serves many purposes—beyond feeding communities, it supports culture, heritage, and non‑market economies (Leong et al., 2024). For example, in Hawaii, traditional fishponds have played a crucial role in food security for generations and are also culturally significant sites that facilitate the continuation of cultural practices (NOAA Fisheries, 2021). A streamlined permitting process was developed to encourage fishpond practitioners (Watson et al., 2016). Wild capture fisheries in Hawaii also contribute to the local culture and cultural foods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, fishers partnered with food banks to support food security (Smith et al., 2022).

The U.S. seafood industry's heavy dependency on imports is expected to remain. This produces both a degree of food security risk as well as a significant trade deficit. Disruptions to the global supply chain are no longer hypothetical, as we witnessed during the COVID-19 crisis (Engle et al., 2023; Uzmanoglu et al., 2024; Smith et al. 2022). Additionally, disease outbreaks in farms in exporting countries periodically disrupt supply chains (Shinn et al., 2018). Global and domestic supply chains were disrupted, causing significant chaos during the early stages of the pandemic, and food security risks became acute in regions such as Hawaii and Guam. Domestic producers are unable to take advantage of economies of scale due to complex regulatory systems in the U.S. (Engle and Stone 2013; Abate et al., 2016; Anderson et al., 2019., Engle et al., 2025).

The COVID-19 pandemic also highlighted a lack of diversity in many parts of the U.S. aquaculture industry. Focusing on high-value species is both desirable and preferable from a purely business and economic efficiency perspective, but this can create challenges when supply chains are disrupted. The Rhode Island aquaculture industry’s focus on oysters, which primarily serve the tourism and hospitality industries, is one such example. The industry has recently invested considerable effort in promoting the consumption of farmed oysters at home (Kelly, 2020), but the local market is relatively small compared to the scale of oyster production. This situation can create imbalances in local seafood markets if supply chain disruptions create an oversupply of local species and a concurrent shortage of imported seafood. It also highlights the importance of investing in diverse local aquaculture production that is resilient to external shocks.

Another important and interesting aspect of aquaculture is that it interacts with capture fisheries in many ways. One example is the provision of hatchery-raised fish and shellfish that are released into the wild to enhance or rebuild wild stock populations, thereby providing support for both commercial and recreational fisheries. The state of wild fish stocks and associated fishery regulations could influence the demand for farm-raised fish and shellfish. Capture fisheries also interact with aquaculture products in exchange markets, regulatory environments, and economic development activities (e.g., Knapp et al., 2007). The importance of the multifaceted relationship between aquaculture and capture fisheries underscores the need for reliable economic studies of these two critical resources, particularly as management, regulatory, and market demands evolve over time.

This proposal was developed based on the previous multistate project, W4004, which is scheduled to end in September 2026, and discussions among the members of the W4004 team. Some components from W4004 were retained, while other components are newly introduced; however, the focus will remain on studying the marketing, trade, and management issues found in various aquaculture and fishery resources. New tasks will be undertaken under the three interrelated areas: 1) enhancing U.S. fish and seafood productivity and competitiveness; 2) improving U.S. fish and seafood marketing and understanding of the global seafood trade; and 3) strengthening rural communities through aquaculture and fisheries. Conducting the proposed work within a multistate framework will facilitate the examination of important stakeholder issues by bringing together experts from across the country, thus avoiding duplication of effort in the design and implementation of research studies. In doing so, the project will continue to develop and maintain the human capital infrastructure established in the previous W4004 project and its predecessors, providing a scientific resource that can respond to emerging problems in this sector.

The successful impacts of completing this work would include providing U.S. seafood industry members with additional tools and information to compete in the global seafood marketplace. Impacts would be broad-reaching, affecting both capture fisheries and aquaculture-based seafood production, and would provide benefits related to both production and marketing. Additionally, success would include project results being disseminated widely, including reaching rural aquaculture and fisheries communities.

The remainder of this section provides a brief description of the issues and justification for each of the main areas of research to be conducted under the project. Throughout the document, references to U.S. seafood production are meant to describe U.S. commercial fishing and aquaculture production broadly and include production not directly for human consumption, including ornamental fish, forage and bait fish, and fish production for restoration purposes.   

Enhancing U.S. Seafood Productivity and Competitiveness

Between 1986 and 2023, the global value of seafood trade increased eightfold, from $23 billion to $185 billion (FAO, 2024). Seafood is the most traded animal protein source globally. In an era where global aquaculture output is rising year after year, U.S. wild capture fisheries and aquaculture production must become more efficient and productive to remain competitive. Increasing imports to the U.S. has resulted in declining real dockside and farmgate prices for U.S. fishermen and fish farmers, respectively, eroding the economic activity associated with these industries and their supporting industries. To compete, U.S. fishermen and fish farmers must increase productivity, adopt new production and marketing methods, and embrace new technologies, including AI.

As a technology-driven economy, the U.S. has competitive advantages that are not effectively being applied to seafood production. Cutting-edge research in broodstock genetics, larval rearing protocols, and feed conversion optimization can reduce production costs while enhancing the quality of the finished product. The improved utilization of world-class U.S. aquaculture diagnostic services can provide fish farmers with a competitive advantage over foreign producers. Artificial intelligence-driven monitoring—encompassing real-time disease detection, feed analytics, and adaptive harvesting windows—provides a clear pathway to higher productivity, reduced environmental footprints, and stronger price positions in both domestic and export markets.

To increase U.S. competitiveness in the global seafood market, producers need to adopt more efficient technologies and production practices to maximize their profitability. Thus, information on the economic benefits and feasibility of new production strategies and technology adoption is needed to increase competitiveness and ensure the viability of the U.S. aquaculture and fisheries industries.

Participating Institutions: University of Arizona, Auburn University, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Purdue University, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, University of Florida, University of Guam, Mississippi State University, University of Rhode Island

Improving U.S. Seafood Marketing and Understanding of the Global Seafood Trade

Beyond improving production and cost efficiency, U.S. seafood producers must develop new products and markets that appeal to consumers, enabling them to capture price premiums and market share. The global seafood market is undergoing rapid changes, and new marketing channels are transforming the process of moving seafood from the farm or vessel to the dinner plate. Understanding the global seafood trade—examining tariff structures, supply chain logistics, trade flows, and other factors influencing seafood trade—can reveal opportunities where American seafood can command premium prices in the domestic market and opportunities to export high-value products to other nations. Employing AI with an understanding of the global seafood trade can enable U.S. seafood producers to develop products that capture high-margin markets and shift away from markets dominated by low-cost imports.

In addition to developing new products and markets, U.S. producers can also improve profitability by effectively differentiating their offerings and capturing price premiums associated with desired product attributes such as product quality, product origin, health-promoting qualities, and environmental friendliness. U.S. seafood producers require information on consumer preferences and effective marketing strategies to differentiate their products and secure premium prices.

Participating Institutions: University of Arizona, Auburn University, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Purdue University, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, University of Florida, University of Guam, Mississippi State University, University of Rhode Island

Strengthening Rural Communities through Aquaculture and Fisheries

Wild capture fisheries and fish farming represent key economic drivers for many rural communities in the U.S. These industries create important jobs not only directly through fishing and fish farming, but also through support industries such as equipment and vessel maintenance, processing, transportation, and marketing. Beyond the economic benefits, these industries provide cultural benefits by allowing both Native Peoples and non-native historical fishing/farming communities to continue ‘working the water.’ Rural communities that rely on fishing and aquaculture face economic fragility due to intense global competition, changing land use, and climate change, which is exacerbated by the limited size and variety of industries located in these smaller economies.

Improving the economic vibrancy and viability of these rural communities requires understanding the economic and cultural importance of commercial fishing and aquaculture. This focus area builds on the other two focus areas by ensuring that the team’s work on both seafood productivity and competitiveness, and seafood marketing and trade benefits rural communities engaging with the seafood industry. A major component of this focus area will be providing extension programming of research findings to rural communities.

We plan to investigate conditions that enable, as well as impediments to, expanding and diversifying U.S. seafood production in ways that ensure long-term economic and community viability. The proposed project would combine national-level analyses of consumers' preferences, trends, and production challenges and opportunities with a series of in-depth local case studies that investigate the same questions at the local scale. These studies aim to identify specific innovations and local success stories, with the goal of finding ways to expand and replicate these successes. National studies will provide critical baseline knowledge, while the local case studies will focus on identifying effective policies, strategies, and knowledge that can be transferred to other areas.

Participating Institutions: All