Meeting protein and energy needs for 10 billion people while restoring oceans

Abstract

Shellfish and seaweed farming provide resources, opportunities, and solutions to address a wide range of seemingly intractable global problems. Installed and managed properly, aquaculture operations can be restorative to ocean environments, counter climate change, and relieve pressure to farm sensitive terrestrial environments. For these reasons, there is growing social acceptance and political pressure for marine aquaculture expansion, and State, Federal, and International, as well as eNGO-led initiatives are underway. Now is the time to invest in multi-disciplinary science-based teams that can signpost the sustainable pathway for marine aquaculture by developing monitoring and modeling tools and protocols for measuring associated ecosystem impacts and beneficial services. The yield on that investment will be healthy food and more carbon-neutral bio-fuels grown in ways that help heal our oceans. A sustained commitment by the United States now to develop the science and technology for future ocean farms will find an enthusiastic audience in young researchers and technologist around the world, who seek better ways to improve people's lives through their science and problem solving.