A $12 million research program should be initiated by the federal government to boost the United States' marine aquaculture, or ocean "fish farming" industry, which is lagging far behind its international counterparts, according to a report released recently by the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. "With so much attention in the United States now focused on diet and health, total sales and per capita consumption of fish have gone up. As a nation, however, we have been unable to keep pace with the rapidly increasing demand and are becoming more and more dependent on imported seafood," says Robert B. Fridley, executive associate dean of the college of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis and chair of the committee that produced the report. Marine aquaculture refers to the farming of ocean finfish, shellfish, crustaceans and seaweed. Citing the benefits of creating new jobs, improving the international trade balance, providing a reliable source of seafood and relieving pressure on populations of threatened fish species, the NRC report urges increased research funding, stronger leadership from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and more attention to regulatory issues.