Fish Farms Threaten Our Oceans

Here's How to Help

The aquaculture industry has a simple message: fish farming is good for the ocean. But the science tells a different story.

Industrial fish and shrimp farming operations discharge untreated waste, spread disease and parasites to wild fish populations, and consume massive quantities of wild-caught fish as feed—driving the same cycle of ecological destruction as factory farms on land. The “sustainable seafood” labels on farmed fish and shrimp are not a guarantee, but a marketing strategy. This World Oceans Month, here are three concrete things you can do.

1. Read and share the report that exposes the myths:

The aquaculture industry has spent decades perfecting its story. Our flagship report, The Myth of “Sustainable” Aquaculture, dismantles five of the industry’s most pervasive claims, from the idea that fish farming reduces pressure on wild fisheries, to the certifications the industry uses to launder its image.

Read the report. Share it with your networks. The more people understand what industrial aquaculture actually is, the harder it becomes for the industry to hide.

Read the report →

These delicious “crab” cakes are packed with umami flavor and entirely plant-based.

2. Reduce the sea animals you eat—and avoid farmed salmon and shrimp:

The simplest way to withdraw your support from this industry is to eat less of what it produces. Reducing how much fish and shrimp you eat overall is one of the most direct things you can do for ocean health—and if you do eat sea animals, knowing what to avoid matters. Farmed salmon and farmed shrimp are among the most environmentally costly products, and among the most misleadingly marketed.

Our solutions page outlines practical solutions that are better for the ocean, for wild fish populations, and for you.

Find solutions →

3. Sign the petition: tell your senators to oppose the MARA Act:

Now the industry wants to expand into U.S. federal ocean waters, where no large-scale industrial fish farming has ever been permitted. The Marine Aquaculture Research for America Act (MARA Act, S. 2586) frames this as a modest “research” program. In reality, it would allow corporations to secure 10-year leases to plant massive fish farming operations across U.S. offshore waters—spending millions in taxpayer dollars along the way on a PR campaign to clean up aquaculture’s dirty reputation.

More than 420 conservation organizations, chefs, businesses, and fisherman’s groups aren’t buying it. Critics warn it’s a one-way door to permanent offshore factory farms—and that once the cages go in, they don’t come out.

Don’t Cage Our Oceans is collecting signatures to send directly to the Senate. It takes less than a minute.

Sign the petition →

The industry is counting on your silence.
Don't give it to them.

Industrial aquaculture companies have the resources to shape policy, flood markets, and control the narrative. What they can’t control is an informed public that sees through the greenwashing and refuses to buy the story, or the product. This World Oceans Month, choose to be part of the shift. Sign up for updates and the latest ways to stay involved.