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Paul Brown, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University

David Brune, Plant Science and Technology, University of Missouri

Dong Fang Deng, School of Freshwater Science, University of Wisconsin

Ryan Milhollin, Agriculture Business and Policy Extension, University of Missouri

Robert Pierce, School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri

Kwamena Quagrainie, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University

Mallory Rahe, Agriculture Business and Policy Extension, University of Missouri

Alice Roach, Center for Risk Management, Kansas State University

Adauto Rocha, Agriculture Business and Policy Extension, University of Missouri

Simone Valle de Souza, Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University

Summary

This report summarizes aquaculture in the U.S. North Central Region, the U.S. at large and the world. It highlights aquaculture production and consumption, summarizes industry trends, and offers further details about aquatic species grown by region.

Aquaculture is defined in the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 as “the propagation and rearing of aquatic species in controlled or selected environments.” Ponds and lakes are common aquaculture environments in the inland U.S. Other production systems include raceways, recirculating systems, nonrecirculating systems and aquaponics. In addition to food fish, aquaculture is important for producing sport fish, ornamental fish, bait fish and aquatic species for conservation purposes.

According to the 2023 Census of Aquaculture, the NCR had 315 farms with aquaculture sales, which represented 9.1% of the U.S. aquaculture farm industry. These farms generated $71.1 million in annual sales. Most NCR states reported aquaculture sales, not adjusted for inflation, between 2018 and 2023. The states with growth from the last census were Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

U.S. aquaculture production has not kept up with domestic growth in product demand — even when seafood supply and demand were disrupted during recent recession and pandemic periods. Several factors are cited for the lack of U.S. aquaculture expansion:

• North American producers compete with international aquaculture producers that have lower production costs, particularly labor, and can ship frozen fish products at lower price points.
• Labor available to process seafood is a limiting factor.
• Regulations for aquaculture production can be a barrier to entry.

China, Southeast Asia and India dominate world aquaculture production. Increase in global aquaculture production has predominantly occurred in inland waters. Between 2010 and 2022, the average growth rate was 3.94% for marine aquaculture and 4.41% for inland aquaculture. The observed growth in world aquaculture production has been driven by intensification, improvements in feeds, enhanced production management, and increased attention to biosecurity. Globally, food fish provide an important source of protein and nutrition. Global fish consumption has grown at a faster annual rate than the global population. Aquaculture systems help to manage and conserve the world’s natural fisheries. They also help supply higher-value seafood products demanded by consumers in developed economies, including the U.S.

Contents

• Summary
• Aquaculture in the North Central Region
  • Introduction to the North Central Region
  • Aquaculture farms
  • Aquaculture farms by type
  • Aquaculture sales
  • Average sales by farm
  • Acres in production
  • Methods used in production
• Aquaculture in the U.S.
  • Major U.S. aquaculture production areas
  • U.S. aquaculture industry growth
  • U.S. seafood imports
• Global aquaculture
  • Global aquaculture production
  • Global aquaculture consumption and demand
  • Global aquaculture trends
• References

Pages

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