Catalina Sea Ranch- An Innovative Way to Grow and Monitor Shellfish

Catalina Sea Ranch is the developer of the first offshore aquaculture facility in federally regulated waters of the United States.  It holds a pioneering permit - issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and unanimously approved by the California Coastal Commission - for developing 100 acres of ocean space approximately six miles offshore from Huntington Beach, California.

This innovative company is developing an Ocean Internet of Things™ Platform to both exceed expectations of regulators for environmental monitoring and exploiting the $11 trillion annual market for Internet of Things forecasted by McKinsey global Institute. This unique platform will allow taking a pulse of an area of the ocean to understand trends, anticipate problems and devise mitigation measures for immediate corrective actions. This capability will lead to future sound regulations based on solid science.

NOAA's Integrated Ocean Observation System (IOOS) arranged for the acquisition of a NOMAD buoy to serve as the Ocean Internet of Things™ Platform for providing governmental agencies, the scientific community and research institutions with a better understanding of Planet Ocean's final frontier.

To measure any environmental impact from aquaculture, technology-based solutions are needed to improve resource utilization and to develop appropriate monitoring strategies. Science-based data will foster best practices and the regulatory criteria for developing this vast global coastal ocean space in a responsible manner for economic prosperity and food security.

The majority of aquaculture's future growth must occur in offshore open ocean waters where Catalina Sea Ranch is developing technologies for the advancement of sustainable aquaculture and marine spatial planning.

Advanced technologies for expanding offshore aquaculture are becoming critical since wild-caught fish peaked 25 years ago and aquaculture must fill the future supply gap for global food security.