As the state struggles to expand its agriculture sector, it was encouraging to hear that Hawaii’s aquaculture industry set a record for sales last year: some $79.7 million in 2021, a 20% increase over the $66.6 million in 2020, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
The growth overall was driven by microalgae, used in nutritional and health supplements. Those sales accounted for a new high of $36.7 million in 2021. Ornamental fish sold for aquariums accounted for $3.61 million in total sales for 2021; in 2020, it was $3.56 million.
Much of the rest of Hawaii’s aquaculture industry — listed in a category simply called “Other” — showed some improvement, but not an upward trend. It comprised 49% of total sales in 2021, or $39.3 million. That was higher than the $30.2 million in 2020, the peak pandemic year, but lower than previous years; in 2014, it was $45.1 million.
Aquaculture is not a dominant part of Hawaii’s total commercial agriculture sector, but it punches above its weight: A Jan. 2021 brief from the University of Hawaii Economic Research Organization noted that “the real value of output (from aquaculture) increased by more than 400% between 1990 and 2017.”
Investing more in Hawaii aquaculture seems like a no-brainer. The state enjoys a broad range of water resources — fresh, brackish, seawater and deep ocean — for raising a multitude of different products year-round. Oysters grow off Windward Oahu and tilapia in freshwater tanks on Hawaii island. In blue waters off Kona, kanpachi grow in giant pens. Shellfish seed and shrimp broodstock account for significant amount of exports. Current efforts to restore ancient Hawaiian fishponds — the true roots of Hawaii aquaculture — brings us full circle.
Yet while Hawaii consumes about twice as much seafood than the national average, it’s not enough to grow the aquaculture business to its full potential. That will depend on raising, processing and packaging products for sale overseas.
“Processing is what’s really going to unlock everything,” said Todd Low, manager for the state Department of Agriculture’s Aquaculture and Livestock Support Services. “Typically our farmers sell things live; that means it’s just local markets. You want to be able to export.”
Indeed. High-quality fish with a premium “Sustainably Raised In Hawaii” label should be a common sight in mainland grocery store freezers.
The state and private interests have invested much time and money in developing the technology to farm-raise on a commercial scale. But success also will depend on clearing away excessive regulatory hurdles that make investment in aquaculture a long-odds bet.
Hawaii has been in the aquaculture business for centuries. With rapid climate change and the decline of key fish stocks in the wild, perhaps the time is right to go from fishponds to something just as sustainable — on a much larger scale.
