Seafood lobbying group Stronger America Through Seafood (SATS) has hired a new manager for its offshore aquaculture campaign in the United States.
Drue Banta Winters brings decades of experience in natural resources, fisheries, and marine aquaculture to her new role, according to SATs.
Prior to joining SATS, she served as the policy director for the American Fisheries Society in Maryland, which promotes scientific research and sustainable management of US fisheries resources.
She also previously served in leadership roles for the state of Louisiana related to its BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and as a federal policy advisor on the long-term recovery on the US Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina. She also served as legal and policy counsel for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.
SATS has been fighting with little success for years to establish and offshore aquaculture sector in US waters through the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture Act (AQUAA).
Passage of AQUAA requires that current bills in the Senate and the House be harmonized, pass approval in both chambers, and be signed by the president.
The effort to develop an offshore aquaculture sector has gained increasing support over the past several years, though there remain detractors that claim the industry would harm the environment and the economic viability of the US fisheries industry.
Last September, Sarah Brenholt left the role to join Cargill as its director of federal government relations in Washington DC.
