October will be National Seafood Month. Locally grown seafood is at the heart of Hawaii’s regional cuisine industry, and as we continue to welcome back tourists to our great state, it’s important to remember that visitors expect to eat local fish.

This is a time to reflect on an industry that plays a critical role in feeding tourists and residents alike. Fish farming, or aquaculture, has become the fastest-growing food production sector in the world. The industry supplies over half of the seafood we consume globally. But nearly all the supply originates overseas with the U.S. importing 90% of the seafood we eat. America should be producing its own seafood through aquaculture especially when we have the vast ocean, land and technology resources to make it happen.

Aquaculture has increasingly proven to be a sustainable form of food production. Scientific research shows that offshore aquaculture, when done carefully and managed responsibly, has a low environmental impact. Technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, provide real-time underwater measurements of fish feed and waste to ensure that fish farming operations are efficient and sustainable. Modern equipment, such as sensors and underwater pumps, allow for optimal water quality and monitoring. And, when it comes to shellfish, mussels, for example, are inherently sustainable as they clean the ocean floor.

Establishing a robust aquaculture industry is also an opportunity to support the pandemic economy. There are opportunities for thousands of American workers in communities from coast to coast. A doubling of U.S. aquaculture production could create an additional 50,000 direct and indirect jobs, from working waterfront farmers, to researchers, engineers, and analysts, to production line workers, fish feed farmers and retail employees.

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America’s soybean and corn farmers raise the crops used as protein sources for fish meal and the feed for farmed fish. And an increase of farmed fish in our communities would complement, not compete with, wild fishing, to boost the supply of affordable seafood on our store shelves and restaurants.

During the hottest summer on record, the impacts of extreme weather on our fisheries have been devastating. Historic temperatures have jeopardized tens of millions of fish stocks. With climate change threatening marine ecosystems more than ever, it’s imperative we have alternative food supplies for our communities and to ensure our nation’s food security.

With the global population estimated to be 9 billion by 2050, we need more ways to feed the world with a low-impact means of production.

As the White House and Congress seek to address climate change, aquaculture should be part of the solution. Federal policymakers have the power to make it happen. They can create a law that allows for the expansion of aquaculture in federal waters, including the Pacific. Without legislation, the U.S. continues to fall behind the dozens of nations that are successfully farming fish, losing out on trade, innovation and job creation.

Aquaculture is the cornerstone of a sustainable American seafood future. As a second-generation seafood industry worker and now investor in global aquaculture projects, I have seen the exciting developments and results of aquaculture firsthand. I encourage our federal representatives to support the expansion of aquaculture here in the great state of Hawaii and nationwide.

Crystal Johnson, head of business development for HATCH.Blue on Hawaii island, is a second-generation seafood industry worker and aquaculture investor.