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Courtesy of Undercurrent News:

Since announcing its formation six months agoat the Aquaculture Americas Conference in Seattle, the Coalition of US Seafood Production (CUSP) has found that there is certainly strength in numbers when advocating as a unified industry, it said.

Coalition members have met twice with federal agencies and legislators in Washington, D.C. this spring to support government action to grow domestic aquaculture, and they are optimistic about progress made to date.

“CUSP has already had an impact,” said Don Kent, president of Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute.

“There has been a lack of cohesiveness in the aquaculture industry with the different players not talking to each other. CUSP was conceptualized as representing a horizontally and vertically integrated business community, spanning different aquaculture methods and seafood species, and the entire supply stream — feed and equipment companies, fish farmers, seafood distributors, retailers and restaurants. CUSP is the aquaculture industry in a nutshell – and your voice gets heard more effectively the larger the group represented.”

In March, a group of CUSP members, including representatives from the Soy Aquaculture Alliance (SAA), Icicle Seafoods, Bell Aquaculture, and the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA), met in Washington, D.C. with newly appointed NOAA Administrator Dr. Kathryn Sullivan.

The group urged for finalization of the Fishery Management Plan for Regulating Offshore Marine Aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico, which was approved by the Gulf Regional Fisheries Council and sent to NOAA in 2009. Although the agency could not specify when the plan would be finalized at the meeting, one week later the plan was released to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review, a critical step in finalization.

The group also met with Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who encouraged CUSP to work on public/private partnerships for aquaculture demonstration projects. This subject was further discussed with Dr. Jo Handesman, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP).

At a follow-up meeting with the OSTP in May, CUSP members, including representatives from the SAA, MAA, Zeigler Feed and Pentair Aquatic Eco-Systems, had further discussions about a workshop with industry, federal agency and NGO stakeholders.

The planned workshop will explore development of commercial scale, successful aquaculture projects to demonstrate the viability of domestic aquaculture, while providing important data for environmental and economic evaluation.

Chris Stock, sales manager at Zeigler Feed, agreed that there has been progress. “The feeling on Capitol Hill was friendlier and more receptive to CUSP’s interests. We all felt that the staff members we met with are more positive and knowledgeable about issues and why aquaculture is important. It’s on the radar now.”