Aquaculture America 2026

February 16 - 19, 2026

Las Vegas, Nevada

Mariculture

Wednesday, February 18, 2026 8:30 AM - 5:30 PM Concorde C
Chair: Tyler Sclodnick, Abigail Bockus

  • 8:30 AM
    Ruth Branch

    OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE CO-LOCATION OF AQUACULTURE AND MARINE ENERGY

  • 8:45 AM
    Drue Banta Winters

    U.S. FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE ON OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE

  • 9:00 AM
    Tori Spence

    UNDERSTANDING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ENDANGERED MARINE MAMMALS AND TROPICAL AQUACULTURE

  • 9:15 AM
    Md Mamunur Rashid Patwary

    EVALUATION OF STRESSES OF AN INTEGRATED MULTI-TROPHIC AQUACULTURE SYSTEM UNDER EXTREME OCEAN CONDITIONS FOR THE GULF OF AMERICA

  • 9:30 AM
    Michael MacNicoll

    DE-RISKING INVESTMENTS IN AQUACULTURE THROUGH HIGH RESOLUTION OCEAN AND WAVE SIMULATIONS INTEGRATED WITH MODEL-BASED ENGINEERING AND TECHNO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS

  • 9:45 AM
    Corey Sullivan

    INTEGRATED SUBMERSIBLE AQUACULTURE FOR WARM WATER OPEN OCEAN

  • 10:30 AM
    Matthew Bowden

    OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE ENGINEERING: PART I – DEMYSTIFYING THE APPROACH

  • 10:45 AM
    David W. Fredriksson

    OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE ENGINEERING: PART II – BEST PRACTICES FOR U.S. FEDERAL WATERS

  • 11:00 AM
    Tyler Sclodnick

    FINANCIAL OUTLOOK OF OPEN OCEAN AQUACULTURE

  • 11:15 AM
    Daniel Benetti

    THE PATH TO OFFSHORE MARINE FISH AQUACULTURE: APPLIED ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES FROM R&D TO COMMERCIALIZATION

  • 11:30 AM
    Vivian Oletty

    REAL-TIME PREDICTION OF AQUACULTURE NET DEFORMATION USING MeshODENet

  • 11:45 AM
    Annie Schatz

    CONNECTING SEA GRANT, THE NATIONAL CENTERS FOR COASTAL OCEAN SCIENCES, AND COASTAL-OCEAN COMMUNITIES TO IMPROVE SUSTAINABLE AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT AND SITING PROCESSES

  • 12:00 PM
    Jose A. Rivera

    RECENT COMMERCIAL MARICULTURE EFFORTS AND ACTIVITIES IN THE CARIBBEAN REGION

  • 12:15 PM
    Tyler Sclodnick

    DEVELOPING AN OPEN OCEAN FISH FARM IN PUERTO RICO

  • 1:30 PM
    Catherine Purcell

    USING OMEGA TO MODEL GENETIC RISKS OF ESCAPED FISH ASSOCIATED WITH OFFSHORE FINFISH CULTURE: AN EXAMPLE USING THE PROPOSED PACIFIC OCEAN AQUAFARMS OPERATION IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

  • 1:45 PM
    James A. Morris

    AQUAWHERE? HOW NOAA MARINE SPATIAL PLANNING IS FINDING SPACE AND INCREASING PERMITTING EFFICIENCY FOR OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE

  • 2:00 PM
    Kristine Cherry

    NAVIGATING REGULATORY SEAS: DEMYSTIFYING THE U.S. FEDERAL AQUACULTURE PERMITTING PROCESS

  • 2:15 PM
    Kenneth L. Riley

    BASELINE ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEYS FOR U.S. OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE DEVELOPMENT

  • 2:30 PM
    Jessica Couture

    SPATIAL THERMAL SUITABILITY OF CANDIDATE FINFISH SPECIES IN U.S. OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE

  • 2:45 PM
    Jennica Lowell

    ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES AND CONSERVATION IMPERATIVES: THE MARRIAGE OF THE MARA ACT, AND THE CHALLENGES NOW FACING OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE IN THE USA

  • 3:00 PM
    Tyler Sclodnick

    TOP LOCATIONS FOR NET PEN AQUACULTURE IN THE CARIBBEAN

  • 3:15 PM
    Dennis Peters

    THE VELELLA EPSILON PROJECT: PIONEERING OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE IN THE SOUTHEASTERN GULF OF MEXICO; CHAPTER 7 – FINALIZING PROJECT PERMITTING AND PREPARING FOR DEPLOYMENT: ACT IV

  • 3:30 PM
    Christopher Schillaci

    SITING AND PERMITTING A COMMERCIAL SCALE FEDERAL WATERS MUSSEL FARM

  • 3:45 PM
    Carlos Carroza

    SEASONAL VARIATION OF OCEANOGRAPHIC CONDITIONS FOR POTENTIAL OFFSHORE AQUACULTURE SITES OFF THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA

  • 4:00 PM
    Daniel Benetti

    APPLIED ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES OF MARINE FISH AQUACULTURE: FROM HATCHERY TO MARKET

  • 4:15 PM
    Jessica Couture

    OFFSHORE ENERGY AND AQUACULTURE CO-LOCATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES IN U.S FEDERAL WATERS

  • 4:30 PM
    Mark A. Rath

    INTRODUCING A NEW NOAA COOPERATIVE INSTITUTE TO ADVANCE U.S. AQUACULTURE RESEARCH AND MARKETING