The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Home (NOAA) from the United States (US) is seeking public input on where to focus while searching places to begin the process of identifying Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOA). They are requesting relevant information on specific issues and areas they should consider for future Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. The deadline for comments is September 14, 2026.
According the definition they provided, Aquaculture Opportunity Areas are defined geographic areas that have been evaluated to determine their potential suitability for commercial aquaculture. The AOA identification process takes into account the potential environmental, economic, and social impacts of identifying AOAs and siting aquaculture in those locations drawing from extensive scientific review and analysis. Public input is critical to this process.
As part of the comment period, NOAA will also host three public listening sessions. The sessions will be in English and Spanish, they reported. They look for the citizens attend one of three public listening sessions or provide a written comment through to help inform where NOAA should focus on searching for Aquaculture Opportunity Areas.
The importance of the task relies on the fact that the United States imported an estimated USD 12 billion in farmed seafood in 2024, about half of the USD 25 billion in total seafood imports. “Aquaculture creates jobs, uplifts coastal economies, and complements wild-capture fisheries. It provides healthy and sustainable seafood to American families—bolstering domestic food security,” members of NOAA highlighted.
Many Ways to Help
According the information they released they are requesting data, comments, views, information, analysis, or suggestions from the public to support the identification of AOAs in US waters. Specifically, they are interested in learning from this input about regions of the country where NOAA should consider analyzing for potential Aquaculture Opportunity Areas; the types of aquacultures these areas may or may not support; or water depths and distances from shore that should be considered.
Other interesting data are locations where the presence of aquaculture gear may overlap with areas used by fishing operations and other commercial users; locations where aquaculture gear may overlap with protected species like whales, dolphins, and sea turtles; areas that may be important for subsistence harvest or other cultural resources; and areas that may be important for outdoor recreation or conserving natural resources.
Past and Ongoing
In 2020, NOAA sought input on regions to begin searching for Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. California and the Gulf of America (previously Mexico) were selected as the first regions for focused evaluation. In 2025, they completed this process by identifying 13 areas in the Gulf and off Southern California totaling more than 21,000 acres in federal waters as Aquaculture Opportunity Areas.
As this work supports Executive Order 13921 on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth, they are also working to identify Aquaculture Opportunity Areas in Alaska state waters. In February 2026, the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science published an Atlas identifying 77 options, ranging from 50 to 2,000 acres, for Aquaculture Opportunity Area identification across 10 study areas in Gulf of Alaska state waters.
The citizens interested in providing information can submit comments through the Federal Register via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. They can visit https://www.regulations.gov and type NOAA–NMFS–2026–2179.
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