National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Administrator Kathryn Sullivan kicked off the annual SeaWeb Seafood Summit in New Orleans on Monday (Feb. 9), highlighting the importance of improving seafood sustainability by focusing on "societal, economic and ecological resilience."

Sullivan pointed to Louisiana's strong commercial fishing industry but also to how the Gulf of Mexico and the country as a whole must embrace aquaculture to meet future global seafood needs as human populations grow.

The proposed federal Gulf Aquaculture Plan published last year would allow up to 20 offshore aquaculture operations to be permitted in federal waters in the Gulf over a 10-year period.

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