THE BIG “BLUE” NATION: EXPANDING AQUACULTURE IN KENTUCKY

Note Written by: K. Cassandra Keck

In 2010, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization reported that approximately 80 percent of the world’s fisheries were either fully or overexploited. That is, production levels at these fisheries were increasingly becoming stagnant as the global population and per capita consumption were spurring growth in demand. Consequently, the organization believed that the world needed to produce just under an additional 40 million metric tons of farmed seafood, by 2030, just to maintain production levels. To meet this goal, the United Nations then explained the benefits of large-scale fish farming (i.e., aquaculture) and expressed a need to expand the industry in regions that could support it. Aquaculture is an increasingly important industry for a world that is growing in population. A population that researchers indicate could reach 9 billion by 2050. With this growing population, the need for fish and fish products continues to increase. This Note defends the thesis that, with proper infrastructural development, aquaculture is a viable industry in Kentucky. It would not only spur job growth, particularly in economically depressed areas of the state, but would also provide fresh, locally sourced protein to a landlocked region.

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