Shrimp Aid Participates in Don't Cage our Oceans DC Fly-in Action

March 3rd – 5th, 2025, Washington DC

Over the past week, fishers, advocates, educators, and policymakers came together in D.C. under the banner of Don’t Cage Our Oceans (DCO2)—a coalition of 60+ diverse organizations working to stop the expansion of offshore finfish farming in U.S. waters. Our message to lawmakers was clear: the risks of ocean net pen aquaculture are too great, and the stakes for our coastal communities too high.

Trying Times

It was a surreal time and experience to be on Capitol Hill, meeting with representatives from both sides of the aisle. There’s a lot of confusion, a lot of apprehension—but also a real sense of resolve. One positive takeaway: there is significant bipartisan support to prevent destructive ocean net pen fish farms from being established in the Gulf of Mexico and other U.S. waters.

What’s at Stake?

The push for these industrial fish farms comes from Executive Order 13921, issued by President Trump in May 2020, which designated “Aquaculture Opportunity Areas” (AOAs) along U.S. coasts. The rationale? To compete with the massive influx of imported farmed seafood, the U.S. needs to ramp up its own aquaculture production. But here’s the problem: ocean feedlots come with catastrophic consequences. Wherever they exist, they pollute, spread disease, degrade coastal ecosystems, and devastate wild fisheries—along with generational fishing and shrimping families and the communities they serve.

The Worst and Best of Bills

Originally introduced in 2018 by Senator Roger Wicker, the AQUAA Act would fast-track and facilitate the development of industrial fish farms if reintroduced. If you care about the survival of our historic coastal fisheries, you must oppose this bill. Claiming to support local fishers while supporting the AQUAA Act is fundamentally contradictory.

Instead, support reintroduction of the Domestic Seafood Production Act (DSPA) which enhances domestic seafood processing infrastructure and capacity in coastal communities, while blocking the development of industrial finfish farms in federal waters. Please contact your congressional representatives and let them know where you stand.

The Reality of Industrial Ocean Fish Farms

To understand just how damaging these operations are, consider just one aspect: waste. A typical industrial fish farm, housing hundreds of thousands of fish, produces over a million pounds of waste per year—the same as the city of Portland, Maine. But unlike city sewage, this waste is dumped directly into our waters, untreated.

What does that mean?

• Industrially farmed fish come with high risks of carcinogenic chemicals and disease.
• Wild fish swimming in those waters are exposed to disease, parasites, and pollution.
• The excess nutrients fuel the Gulf of Mexico’s Dead Zone, which last year covered 6,705 square miles—an area devoid of oxygen where marine life simply cannot survive.
• The Dead Zone is already a crisis, caused largely by agricultural runoff from the Mississippi River. These fish farms would make it exponentially worse.

So Who Actually Benefits?

• Not local communities. These farms don’t create significant jobs and offer no useful infrastructure for wild fishers.
• Not wild fisheries. These operations weaken marine ecosystems and threaten existing fish stocks.
• Not consumers. Industrially farmed fish come with high risks of contamination and disease.
  The only winners? National and multinational corporations that own and operate these farms. They have no interest in protecting coastal communities, preserving wild fisheries, or ensuring our local fishers make it through another season. Their only priority is their bottom line.

The U.S. Manages Wild Fisheries Better Than Almost Anyone

Despite the many challenges we face as a nation, one thing we do exceptionally well—by global consensus—is manage our wild fisheries. Scientists, industry leaders, and policymakers worldwide recognize the U.S. as a leader in sustainable fisheries management. But that success is now under threat.

What Now?

Now it’s up to us to keep the pressure up to support DSPA and oppose industrial finfish farming. Contact your representatives and demand that they support DSPA and oppose industrial net pen aquaculture legislation such as AQUAA, and SEAfood Act. Spread the word. This fight isn’t just about fish—it’s about protecting the future of our waters, our communities, and the generations who depend on them. https://www.congress.gov/members/find-your-member

For more information, please contact us at Info@ShrimpAid.org.