Catalina Sea Ranch

Idea

Creating the first aquaculture facility in U.S. Federal waters to deliver fresh, sustainable, ready-to-cook mussels.

Introduction

Founded in 2012, Catalina Sea Ranch has developed the first offshore aquaculture facility in federally regulated waters of the United States, located six miles offshore of Huntington Beach, California. During the first two years of operation, they improved their technologies, validated the economics, and monitored and documented environmental impact. Their 100_acre aquaculture facility is located on the edge of the San Pedro Shelf, which is the broadest mainland continental shelf segment off the California coast with approximately 40 square miles (26,000 acres) of federal waters available for expansion.

Innovation

Catalina Sea Ranch off of California is the first offshore shellfish ranch permitted in U.S. federal waters, and they plan on expanding. Seafood farming, called aquaculture, provides half of all seafood consumed globally, and if done right it can reduce pressure on wild fisheries and have massive net benefits for our ocean and coastal economies.

Impact

They are now expanding their aquaculture facility to 3,000 acres in order to put a dent in America's annual $15 billion seafood trade deficit and become the Aquaculture Capital of AmericaTMTM. Expansion will include cultivating additional mollusk shellfish (scallops, oysters, and abalone), which are among the most lucrative and sustainable fisheries in the U.S., valued at $1 billion.