Washington summit to discuss US marine aquaculture

The summit will feature a broad agenda focused on the business opportunities and challenges for US marine aquaculture. The summit will also focus on specific action items, including: · Legislation · Regulation · Research and development initiatives · Economic incentives and investment programs, and · Scientific research priorities to address public policy issues At the summit, business leaders, policy experts, government officials, and researchers from across the nation will gather to exchange ideas and make recommendations on how the United States can join the global aquaculture community and accelerate the integration of domestic aquaculture into our own seafood production efforts. According to a press release, Mr. Gutierrez’s keynote remarks on Tuesday will concentrate on the economic importance of promoting safe and sustainable aquaculture and the necessity to meet the United States growing demand for seafood. On Wednesday, Mr. James L. Connaughton, chairman of the White House's Council on Environmental Quality will be the featured speaker. It is expected that the summit will present a unique opportunity for aquaculture business leaders to help drive the seafood farming industry forward in order to meet US economic and environmental needs. Congress is currently considering the Administration's National Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2007. The bill will help open the door for marine aquaculture and expand business opportunity in federal waters off US coasts. Seafood contributes over USD 8 billion to the United States' trade deficit. The country imports 80 percent of its seafood and almost half of that is from aquaculture. A robust offshore aquaculture industry will help reverse this and will help drive economic growth. Caption: An aquaculture summit in Washington DC this week will discuss how the US can join the global aquaculture community.