Catalina Sea Ranch has developed the first offshore aquaculture facility in federally regulated waters of the United States, located six miles offshore of Huntington Beach, California. During the first two years of operation, they improved their technologies, validated the economics, and monitored and documented environmental impact. Their 100_acre aquaculture facility is located on the edge of the San Pedro Shelf, which is the broadest mainland continental shelf segment off the California coast with approximately 40 square miles (26,000 acres) of federal waters available for expansion. They are now expanding their aquaculture facility to 3,000 acres in order to put a dent in America's annual $15 billion seafood trade deficit and become the Aquaculture Capital of AmericaTMTM. Expansion will include cultivating additional mollusk shellfish (scallops, oysters, and abalone), which are among the most lucrative and sustainable fisheries in the U.S., valued at $1 billion. The company has a robust R&D program, having been awarded $500,000 from the Department of Energy (ARPA-E) as the prime contractor to conduct research for developing a marine biomass (seaweed) industry for America.