Aquaculture & Fisheries

Aquaculture & Fisheries covers the farming of fish and shellfish (aquaculture) and the harvesting of wild fish and seafood (commercial fishing). It spans finfish and shellfish farming, wild-capture fisheries, and the increasingly important farmed-seafood sector responding to growing protein demand and wild-stock limits.

Demand is driven by seafood consumption, health trends, and the sustainability advantages of aquaculture, with farmed seafood the primary growth avenue as wild fisheries are largely at capacity. It is a fragmented segment of fishing operations and aquaculture producers, with investment in land-based and recirculating aquaculture (RAS) and sustainable fisheries; production is tracked by the USDA/NOAA, not the Economic Census.