For years now, we here at Ocean Conservancy have been fighting hard for sustainable fish-farming practices that protect our ocean and the wildlife and people that depend on it.

Now more than ever, these smart national fish-farming standards are within reach, thanks to a new bill introduced by California's own Representative Lois Capps.

Will you join Ocean Conservancy and ask your representatives to support a smart national fish-farming plan?

Fish farming, also known as aquaculture, now accounts for more than 50 percent of the world's seafood consumption. And when done right — with detailed and consistent federal regulations in place to address the potential economic and environmental impacts — it can be an effective way to meet our growing demand for seafood.

But without a plan in place, all coastlines, from New England to the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific coast, are threatened by the potential harmful impacts of a poorly regulated industry. Current laws do not properly address the real and scientifically documented risks associated with fish farming, including:

--Nutrient and chemical pollution caused by excessive amounts of fish excrement, antibiotics and other chemicals that flow out of pens and can affect wild fish as well as the broader marine ecosystem

--Transmission of diseases to local fish and reduction of the health of wild populations caused when farmed fish accidentally escape from farming nets and compete with wild fish for food and habitat

--Entanglement of natural predators like seals, sea lions, sharks, birds and other marine wildlife in fish pens

Please join us and urge your representatives to support national fish-farming standards that will protect wild fish and our ocean waters for generations to come.

The National Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Act introduced by Rep. Capps is an important step toward an environmentally responsible fish-farming plan that protects the fisheries, marine wildlife, and ocean ecosystems on which we all depend.

It's time to set the standard for safe fish farming — thank you for taking action today.

For a sea of change,
Vikki N. Spruill
President and CEO, Ocean Conservancy