Making state marine aquaculture information more accessible
Marine aquaculture is a relatively small seafood sector in the United States, but there is potential for growth and interest in advancing the industry through supportive federal and state policy. Currently, most marine aquaculture in the U.S. occurs in nearshore waters or land-based tanks and is primarily regulated using state-level policy. As there is no comprehensive national legislation guiding marine aquaculture development and management, state and federal agencies, researchers, and industry members can benefit from increased access to state regulations and policies across the U.S. to understand how different policy approaches may be enabling or impeding the development of the industry.
State Marine Aquaculture Policy Dashboard
The Lester Lab has been compiling and analyzing detailed data on state marine aquaculture policy across the 23 coastal marine states, including legislation, policy initiatives, regulatory frameworks, and management. In 2024, we launched the State Marine Aquaculture Policy Dashboard in collaboration with the National Sea Grant Law Center at the University of Mississippi, with support from the Builders Initiative. The Dashboard is a resource to support management and sustainable growth of the U.S. marine aquaculture industry. It is intended to make policy data more accessible, to allow for interactive exploration of the data, and to promote learning and exchange across states. The data are updated annually and new policy attributes can be added to the Dashboard.
As of 2025, the Dashboard includes 42 different attributes of aquaculture policy, grouped within 9 themes.
Additional resources available on the Sea Grant Law Center Project Page
Policy themes and attributes in the State Marine Aquaculture Policy Dashboard
Informing aquaculture management and policy
Building Consensus Workshop Series
With continued support from the Builders Initiative, we are hosting a series of workshops and webinars in 2025 and 2026 to help identify and promote best practices in state aquaculture management and policy.
Project Kickoff Webinar (December 2024)
Graphic Recording from the first workshop (March 2025)
Policy Briefs
We have also developed a series of policy briefs for some attributes. These briefs provide a thorough review of a particular attribute, including key takeaways, examples and best practices based on a comparative analysis of different state approaches to that attribute, and recommendations and guidance for states interested in reforming or updating their policy.
Active Use Requirements in State Level Marine Aquaculture: An active use requirement is a law or regulation stipulating that mariculture farmers must prove that they are actively cultivating marine organisms on their farms.
Leveraging Pilot Frameworks for the Sustainable and Diverse Development of the Marine Aquaculture Industry: Pilot frameworks allow trial farming activities on a temporary basis.These opportunities can facilitate industry development, diversification, and resilience by reducing regulatory and financial barriers; cultivating local social acceptance; and encouraging farms to adopt environmental best practices.
Right-to-Farm Statutes and Aquaculture: Right-to-farm statutes protect farmers from “nuisance lawsuits” filed to combat the odor, noise, and dust that can be associated with land-based farming. However, aquaculture is not universally included in these, and it can be difficult for farmers to understand their coverage.
Publications:
Ruff, et al. (2024) State Marine Aquaculture Policy Dashboard improves transparency and accessibility for growing industry. PLoS One.
Ruff et al. (2024) Leaving seafood on the table: Pilot pathways a missed opportunity for US mariculture. Marine Policy.
Lester et al. (2021) Diverse state-level marine aquaculture policy in the United States: Opportunities and barriers for industry development. Reviews in Aquaculture.
Froehlich et al. (2022) Piecing together the data of the US marine aquaculture puzzle. Journal of Environmental Management.
Project Team:
Dr. Sarah Lester, PI
Stephanie Otts, J.D/M.S.E.L, Sea Grant Law Center PI
Lillie Bradshaw, PhD student
Dr. Bess Ruff, former postdoc
Hayley Lemoine, PhD student and Knauss Fellow
This project is funded by a grant from the Builders Initiative.
Initial compilation of policy data was supported by a grant from NOAA Sea Grant/California Sea Grant.