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IL Soy: U.S. aquaculture gets big boost

The U.S. aquaculture industry and U.S. soybean growers have gotten a big boost with a decision by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, commonly known as NOAA. Mark Albertson with the Illinois Soybean Association tells Brownfield that NOAA is now going to accept permits for aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico, “Right now in the Gulf of Mexico, we’ve got thousands of off-shore oil rigs but not a single fish farm.” He says it is a great opportunity, “In the U.S., we like to think of ourselves as self-sufficient when it comes to feeding ourselves. But that’s not the case when it comes to seafood. We’re importing over 80% of our seafood into the U.S. Why not grow our own fish here in the U.S. to feed ourselves?”

Albertson says soymeal is becoming a major staple in fish feed, “Aquaculture has been around forever but the idea of feeding soy to fish is relatively new. Just in the last decade or so have we really figures out how to feed certain species of fish soy.” And, he says that is a huge plus for growers.

AUDIO: Interview with Mark Albertson