June 28, 2007

US Red Lobster gives fish farming its blessings

The president of Red Lobster, America's largest seafood restaurant chain, said that consumers would be woulding to pay more for locally produced seafood.

Giving his endorsement to the US fish farming industry, Kim Lopdrup said that American consumers would be woulding to pay a "modest premium" for homegrown seafood, as most believe that local seafood is fresher and of higher quality

Red Lobster currently purchases 80 percent of its seafood from abroad.

Lopdrup said the US should increase the amount of fish farmed in federal waters if it hopes to shrink the country's US$8 billion seafood deficit.

Expanding fish farming's potential would be critical as the world's population and demand for seafood are rising at a time when wild fish stocks are declinign from overfishing and pollution.

Aquaculture, a US$70 billion business now accounts for half the seafood produced worldwide, with 90 percent of it in Asia.