The U.S. Department of Commerce is proposing to allow aquaculture in federal waters, from three to 200 miles offshore.

Alaska has banned fish farming in state waters - within three miles of shore - out of concern that the farms would spread disease and parasites and that they would compete with the wild fish that support the fishing industry.

State officials and Alaska commercial fisherman oppose the federal proposal, which could go before Congress next year.

But Gunnar Knapp, a fisheries economist at the University of Alaska Anchorage, said fish farming is transforming the global seafood industry. More and more buyers want the consistent and reliable year-round supply that farms offer. And the farms bring jobs to coastal communities, Knapp told the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee.

''We don't have aquaculture because we haven't wanted it,'' he said. ''But this aquaculture revolution is going to continue whether or not we choose to participate.''

The Alaska Legislature banned fish farming in 1990.