CaliAqua
Chef Jason Fullilove on a terrace overlooking the ocean

A field guide to California seafood

Changing how California thinks about seafood.

A chef-led movement to build public trust in responsible California aquaculture — through food, storytelling, science, and transparency.

Coast to open ocean →The hard questions
Founded by Chef Jason Fullilove

01 — The Opportunity

85%

of the seafood America eats is imported.

California has one of the most productive coastlines on Earth, the best marine scientists in the world, and the strictest environmental standards anywhere.

We can do better.

~90%

of wild stocks are fully fished or overfished. Wild capture has hit its ceiling.

7,000+ mi

is how far imported “Hamachi” is flown from Japan. Most diners don’t know it’s already farmed.

Figures from The CaliAqua Blueprint · original sources pending

02 — The Mission

Build public trust in responsible California aquaculture through food, storytelling, science, and transparency.

All of California aquaculture — from open-ocean and offshore finfish to shellfish, kelp, and land-based farms. If it’s grown responsibly in California waters or on California soil, it has a home here.

  • TransparencyName every concern. Answer it honestly.
  • ScienceBest available evidence, made simple.
  • Great FoodThe plate is the proof. Taste changes minds.
  • CommunityStand with fishermen, growers, and eaters.
  • Local JobsA working waterfront, kept working.
  • Healthy OceansFarming that helps the sea, not harms it.
01Why California85% imported — and the strictest standards anywhere.02How It WorksFrom land-based farms to offshore pens: coast to open ocean.03SpeciesField-guide plates, starting with California yellowtail.04Field VisitsThe farms, labs and people building it.05Questions11 hard questions, met head-on.

07 — Questions Everyone Should Ask

Not myths to bust.
Questions to answer.

People don’t want to be lectured — they want honest answers. Every hard question about ocean farming, met head-on.

11 questions

EnvironmentDoesn't farming carnivorous fish use more wild fish than it makes?The most honest question — so we meet it head-on.Read the answer →Health & qualityIs farmed fish unhealthy — full of chemicals and antibiotics?In the U.S., aquaculture drugs are tightly controlled by the FDA.Read the answer →EnvironmentDo fish farms pollute the ocean?Offshore pens sit in deep, moving water that disperses nutrients.Read the answer →EnvironmentWhat about escapes damaging wild populations?The 2017 cautionary tale was Atlantic salmon in the Pacific — non-native.Read the answer →FishermenWon't this hurt commercial fishermen?Their concern is earned — they’ve watched their waters shrink for decades.Read the answer →Why hereWe have food — why do this here?Because we import about 85% of our seafood, much of it farmed abroad under weaker rules.Read the answer →Health & qualityIsn't farmed just lower quality than wild?Not for a chef running the numbers.Read the answer →OversightIs there any oversight once a farm is built?A real gap the industry is closing.Read the answer →EnvironmentDoesn't aquaculture spread disease to wild fish?Disease management is central.Read the answer →OversightIsn't one farm a foot in the door for dozens?Every project is permitted individually.Read the answer →Why hereWhy not just do shellfish, kelp, or land-based instead?We should do all of it — they solve different problems.Read the answer →
“You earn trust by naming the worries and answering them — not by talking around them.”The CaliAqua Blueprint
Hamachi crudo by Chef Jason Fullilove
Hamachi crudo · the lead species, the whole story on one plate
Crudo served on spoons with cucumberRaw fish with shaved greens and charred citrusCrispy-skin fillet over a green sauceThe chef’s argument: crispy-skin catch, plated

Dishes by Chef Jason Fullilove — sustainable seafood, cooked to convince.

The Plate Is the Proof

Taste changes minds.

This is how we make the argument.

Jason cooks the species CaliAqua covers, and shows why chefs care about:

  1. 01Quality
  2. 02Consistency
  3. 03Sustainability
  4. 04Origin
On the plate: California yellowtail →

The Proof · Field Visits

This isn’t a pitch.
It already happened.

All field visits →
Chef Jason Fullilove at the Dick Laub Fisheries Replenishment Labs
Dick Laub Fisheries Replenishment Labs
Chef Jason Fullilove with HSWRI CEO Don Kent
HSWRI · with CEO Don Kent
Oysters served at an outdoor table
Shellfish growers · the consumer gap, in person
Chef Jason Fullilove with a chef and a guest
Chef to chef · Tumie Coco on the road
“The science is ready. The farms can work. What’s missing is the communication. That’s the job.”The CaliAqua Blueprint

Watch

One species.
One story.
Every episode.

CaliAqua is the home of an upcoming documentary and educational series. Each episode will live here with its key facts, sources, and the farms and species behind it.

YouTube channel · coming soon
Episode 01Title and date to be announcedIn production
Episode 02Title and date to be announcedIn production
Episode 03Title and date to be announcedIn production

The content flywheel · one farm visit = 40 pieces of content

  • Visit the farm
  • Film everything
  • Cook the species
  • Interview the people
  • Long YouTube episode
  • Reels & TikTok
  • Fact-page answers
  • Newsletter
  • Website
  • Repeat.
Chef Jason Fullilove examining white abalone with a scientist at HSWRI
HSWRI · White Abalone, in hand

03 — Why Jason

Nobody else can tell this story.

  • Chef30+ years, CIA-trained, Ritz-Carlton to Campanile and Patina.
  • MediaNYT, LA Times, TODAY, Food Network. On-camera talent.
  • BrandTraeger ambassador. Tumie Coco, built from idea to retail.
  • Seafood WatchFirst certified sustainable at Malibu Pier.
  • AdvocacyCSA chef-advocate; testified in D.C. for the MARA Act.
  • HSWRIHands in the tanks with the scientists building it.

08 — The North Star

The five-year vision.

Goals, not results: where CaliAqua is headed over the next five years.

1M

Followers

100M

Views

100

Farm visits

50

Chef ambassadors

20

Documentary episodes

1

National movement

09 — Partners, not sponsors

A coalition, already forming.

  • NOAA Fisheries
  • Seafood Watch
  • HSWRI
  • California Chefs
  • Universities
  • Restaurants
  • Growers
  • Shellfish Growers Assoc.
  • Investors

As listed in The CaliAqua Blueprint · each name goes live only with that partner’s OK

Newsletter

Field Notes

Be the first to know as CaliAqua launches farm visits, episodes, and events near you.

10 — The First Domino

Register the brand.

Tell the story.

Visit one farm.

Cook one fish.

Change one mind.

Repeat.