Bipartisan senators released legislation last week that would speed the process of putting commercial-scale fish farms in federal waters.
The “Marine Aquaculture Research for America (MARA) Act of 2025,” sponsored by Sens. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), would boost offshore aquaculture development and remove regulatory barriers for open-ocean fish farms. It was shared first with POLITICO’s E&E News.
Wicker said in a statement that the bill would “cut red tape for job creators on the Gulf Coast and improve workforce development.”
The legislation is the latest in an ongoing battle to open U.S. waters to offshore fish farming. A similar version of the bill, the “AQUAA Act,” was introduced by Wicker in previous congresses alongside House companion bills, but lawmakers have yet to muscle it through either chamber.
