Yes, Kansas is a player in the seafood industry. Here’s how to get bigger | Opinion

While Kansas may be far from our nation’s coastlines, the systems we manufacture, and the wheat, soybeans and other crops we grow here are producing the high-quality, plant-based fish feeds being used to sustainably raise seafood across the country and around the world. Raising and harvesting fish using innovative open ocean aquaculture techniques off America’s coasts presents an opportunity for Kansas businesses and farmers who will benefit from growth of U.S. seafood production.

As global demand for sustainable protein rises, aquaculture has become one of the fastest-growing food production sectors. Advances in science and technology, especially innovations in fish feeds, have made open ocean aquaculture one of the most sustainable forms of protein production today.

Today’s modern fish feeds often utilize plant-based ingredients. Wheat and soybeans — two of our state’s top crops — are some of the key ingredients that help deliver the healthy mix of amino acids, fatty acids and energy that fish need to grow and thrive. Other important ingredients include crops such as corn, peas, barley, rice, canola and flaxseed.

American farmers, including those here in Kansas, would benefit from the expansion of American aquaculture as demand for crops used to feed fish grow too. But the potential for open ocean aquaculture remains hindered in the United States because of the lack of federal legislation to support its growth. As a result, the U.S. imports up to 85% of the seafood we consume, and now ranks only 18th in global aquaculture production.

New legislation in Congress — the bipartisan Marine Aquaculture Research for America Act of 2025 — would put in place the policy that is needed to create a pathway for open ocean aquaculture in federal waters. Aquaculture growth would help support domestic seafood production and provide more American-raised seafood on our families’ dinner plates, while creating new growth for the businesses and farmers that help make aquaculture possible.

Expanding our domestic aquaculture industry would contribute millions of dollars to our economy and create thousands of new jobs, in Kansas and across the country. In addition to creating new opportunities for our nation’s farmers who will be supplying the crops used in plant-based fish feeds, America’s coastal communities and working waterfronts would benefit as fishermen and fish farmers work together to increase the supply of American-raised seafood coming into our ports. An increase in seafood production would help create growth among businesses across the aquaculture supply chain, including feed manufacturers, hatcheries, equipment producers, processing plants and retailers and distributors.

Many American states are already proving that aquaculture can be done sustainably and successfully. But until Congress puts in place the federal policies to support the growth of open ocean aquaculture in America, our communities will continue to miss out on the benefits aquaculture offers. By supporting open ocean aquaculture, federal policymakers — including Kansas Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran — can help ensure businesses and farmers throughout America’s heartland benefit from increased demand across the seafood supply chain.

Jesse Mitchell oversees technical sales for companion animal and aquafeed at Wenger Manufacturing Inc., based in Sabetha, Kansas.