The U.S. aquaculture industry knows what it means to suffer from serving too many masters.

Only a fraction of American seafood demand is met by U.S. fish farmers, largely owing to the overlapping regulatory burdens weighing on their economic potential, experts say.

These obligations may be inescapable, but industry leaders hope they’ll at least become more manageable if fish farmers advocate for themselves more consistently and cohesively.

“That’s where the rubber hits the road to make change,” said Paul Zajicek, executive director of the National Aquaculture Association. “You can really make progress but it’s not an overnight sensation.”

Zajicek and other fish farming experts recently spoke about the obstacles and opportunities facing aquaculture development in the Northwest at a conference in Salem, Ore. on Oct. 3-6.

Fish farmers in the U.S. produce about 658 million pounds of seafood a year, roughly one-tenth the amount that’s generated by domestic fishermen or imported from overseas suppliers.

Domestic aquaculture operations contend with numerous layers of government oversight, which is often lacking for foreign competitors, he said.

“We’re essentially shifting the environmental impact from the United States to these other countries,” Zajicek said.

Fish farms are subject to various requirements for food safety, protected species, land use, water quality and other issues, all stacked upon each other, he said. “Typically there’s a silo effect among agencies. Aquaculture covers all of those silos. It crosses all those boundaries.”

Up to 22% of a fish farm’s operating expenses are devoted to complying with regulations, limiting producers’ ability to invest in production and reducing the industry’s potential sales by millions of dollars, said Carole Engle, an aquaculture economist and industry consultant.

“U.S. aquaculture could be much bigger if we didn’t have these regulations preventing sales,” Engle said.

These costs are proportionately heavier for smaller aquaculture operations, as measured by regulatory spending per unit of production, she said. The permit fees themselves aren’t as expensive as the attorneys and consultants they entail.

“It’s only the larger ones that can really deal with it,” Engle said.

If regulators allowed fish farmers to apply for multiple permits simultaneously, rather than one at a time, that would help ease the strain, she said.

The “startup phase” in aquaculture tends to be lengthy for other reasons as well, considering the time it takes to install facilities, begin production, refine methods and develop markets, she said. Compared to many other farmers, fish producers must cultivate close relationships with buyers.

“These fish aren’t just going to walk to the consumers who want to eat them,” Engle said. “There’s no auction barn to sell your fish. No grain elevator to sell your crop.”

New aquaculture operators may underestimate repair expenses and other costs while projecting overly optimistic revenues, she said. Late entrants to a market may lower their prices out of desperation while increasing overall supplies, making it harder for existing businesses to compete.

“Business savvy and experience are really critical,” Engle said. “We need to find the entrepreneurs and get them interested in aquaculture.”

The aquaculture industry tends to be split among large operators and those small enough to practically be considered hobbyists, said Randy Bentz, vice president of the Oregon Aquaculture Association.

It’s rare for fish farmers to occupy the “death valley” between those two extremes, since mid-sized producers must devote all their time to aquaculture without making enough money to quit their day jobs, said Bentz, who operates a trout farm near Scio, Ore.

Regulations may cause some fish farmers to exit the industry, but they provide a competitive advantage for large companies that can afford them, Bentz said. By creating steep barriers to entry, the government effectively suppresses competition.

Many major commercial operators achieved their size when the regulatory obstacles were still relatively low, he said. “The best way to start a fish farm is to do it 50 years ago.”

By engaging with state and federal government officials, the aquaculture industry can further its goals, Zajicek said. Streamlining regulations would help fish farmers, as would imposing the same regulatory standards on seafood importers.

However, people have a tendency to mobilize during a crisis while leaving such day-to-day advocacy to others, he said. “It’s a heavy lift.”