NOAA scouts new fish-farm zones as Gulf of Alaska planning proceeds

Alaskans who fish or harvest coastal waters have until Sept. 13 to tell NOAA where commercial fish and shellfish farms should be considered next, a question that isn't hypothetical here. The agency opened planning on aquaculture zones in Gulf of Alaska state waters in April, and this national round could widen it.

NOAA's request asks the public which parts of U.S. waters it should study for the next Aquaculture Opportunity Areas, the zones the agency designates as suitable for commercial aquaculture. The designations trace to a 2020 executive order directing Commerce to find areas fit for fish farming. NOAA says it will pair public input with its own spatial analyses and coordinate with fishery councils and state, tribal and jurisdictional governments.

Alaska has already been through the front end of this. NOAA issued a notice in April to prepare an environmental impact statement on aquaculture areas in Gulf of Alaska state waters, following draft zone options and a spatial study of those same waters. Tribal governments hold cultural, subsistence and marine-use interests in shorelines where sites could land.

Comments go through regulations.gov under docket NOAA-NMFS-2026-2179. NOAA will also hold three listening webinars, the first Aug. 6.