Aquaculture 2022

February 28 - March 4, 2022

San Diego, California

MARKETING AND ECONOMICS OF WARMWATER MARINE FINFISH AQUACULTURE

Jonathan van Senten*, Carole R. Engle, Michael H. Schwarz , Domena Agyeman, Noah Boldt, and Cristina Watkins

SEAMaR,  Virginia Seafood  AREC

Virginia Tech

102 South King Street-

Hampton, VA, 23669
jvansenten@vt.edu



 Global production of marine finfish has grown both in total volume of production but also in the number of species farmed commercially. With the exception of salmon and redfish, however, there has been little commercial production of marine finfish in the U.S.  While regulatory challenges have affected the development of offshore U.S. marine aquaculture, there are other challenges affecting warmwater marine finfish that warrant further investigation.  Readily accessible information on the size of markets, consumer preferences, and market opportunities for U.S. aquaculture production of warmwater marine finfish species are currently unavailable.  Understanding the  existing supply, major geographic markets, and preferences of consumers and supply chain distributors who handle these products  are  critical elements in successful business planning and business development.  The project team has undertaken three analyses to address some of the knowledge gaps for warmwater marine finfish aquaculture; focusing on the f infish species identified in the “Status of Marine Finfish” document developed by USDA ARS (Table 1).  The first was an analysis of the current supply of these species of interest; sourced from capture fisheries, domestic aquaculture production, and international trade. Second, the assessment of consumer preferences for selected species that are available in Southern tier states. Third, the preferences of seafood distributors in the Southern tier states for warmwater finfish species and particularly the potential for the selected species of interest.