Fish farms may be 'wave of the future' for Gulf
By CATHY ZOLLO, crzollo@naplesnews.com
January 19, 2004
siliconinvestor.com
The future of farming in America isn't in a field somewhere in Iowa but miles out at sea.
It's open ocean aquaculture — fish farming.
It's submerged cages brimming with fish that are bound for a market where they are in high demand, and it will likely be big business in the Gulf of Mexico one day in the not too distant future.
Open ocean aquaculture seems the solution to several problems, answering the need for high-quality protein for human diets and protecting depleted wild fish stocks by reducing the pressure on them and allowing them to rebound.
Declining fish or stable fish stocks stand in contrast to rapidly growing demand for fish by American consumers.
The United States imports 60 percent of its seafood, making it the second largest trade deficit after oil, according to the Department of Commerce.
That deficit grew from $6 billion to $10 billion between 1996 and 2000, and the demand for seafood is expected to grow 70 percent by 2025.
Though ocean aquaculture is relatively new to the United States, farming the open ocean is common practice around the world, including finfish operations in Europe and shrimp farms in Southeast Asia.
American political leaders are concerned that the United States is falling behind on aquaculture. So lawmakers in Congress are seeking ways to make it easier to do and also more common in the exclusive economic zone, or EEZ, the 3.4 million square-mile area of ocean that begins three miles from the U.S. coast at the end of state waters and extends 200 miles out.
They've asked officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to pen some legislation to that effect.
That's fine, say environmentalists. Perhaps it is the answer to looming problems of a growing demand for seafood supply, falling fish stocks and food security for the United States.
But they say they want it done thoughtfully and with consideration of the impacts of the practice on ocean ecosystems.
If legislation being crafted by NOAA becomes law, tracts of ocean would be up for grabs to be leased by aquaculture operations. Under current laws, such operators must get permits from several agencies under whose jurisdiction their farms might fall.
Environmental concerns snuffed the launch of an open ocean aquaculture operation 33 miles off Tampa in December. Six environmental groups and hundreds of individuals spoke out against the proposed fish farm, saying such an operation should require an environmental impact statement, and the National Marine Fisheries Service denied the permit.
The Magnuson-Stevenson Fisheries Conservation Act that regulates fishing ignores aquaculture, so fish farmers who want to grow and harvest red drum, for instance, are under the same restrictions on how much they can haul in as commercial fishermen unless they get a waiver.
Linda Chaves, national aquaculture coordinator for NOAA, could not give specifics about the legislation but said it would set up and streamline rules to make it easier for operators to get going.
The legislation would allow for long-term leasing for 10, 20 or 30 years of ocean tracts to allow entrepreneurs something to take to a bank.
"Otherwise they are not going to loan anyone any money," she said.
The legislation also would lay the groundwork for rules that would come afterward that would decide details such as how big cages can be, where they can be located, what fish they can contain, among other specific regulations.
Chaves said at that point stakeholders such as industry trade groups, ocean advocates and fishermen would have a say.
Officials at The Ocean Conservancy who have been watching the issue unfold have already made it clear to NOAA that open ocean aquaculture needs to overseen so it doesn't do more harm than good.
"We're hoping there will be stringent regulations," said Marianne Cufone, program manager for The Ocean Conservancy's St. Petersburg office. "There are a number of concerns with the escapement of fish, water pollution from feed or waste, altering the environment with chemicals that might be used to prevent fouling of the net pens, antibiotics that might be used to keep the fish healthy or reduce disease."
Meghan Davis, Aquaculture Division director for Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, said there is a right way to do open ocean aquaculture so that it is environmentally friendly.
"You need to make sure the site is deep enough and has a strong enough current so that the fish waste and uneaten food gets dispersed and doesn't settle on the bottom," she said.
The operation shouldn't be near coral reefs, either.
To thrive, reefs require water that contains few nutrients.
Essential as well is that the farms raise fish that are native to those waters. It nullifies any threat of introducing an invasive species.
The benefits of a sound operation are many, she said.
Open ocean fish farmers can use some of the ocean's natural productivity to grow fish that are in high demand. They can take pressure off wild stocks of fish and are not an environmental threat when done right.
"I really see it as the wave of the future," she said. "You don't need coastal land. You are using the ocean water that (the fish) are found in."
Davis said Snapper Farm, a 5-year-old cobia and mutton snapper operation two miles off the Puerto Rican coast, is an example of a well-thought-out endeavor.
It is a research and development operation that also has a business side of the house and produces close to 100,000 pounds of fish each year, said Brian O'Hanlon, one of the farm's founders.
The farm employs new submerged cage technology — twin cone frames above and below across which netting is strung — that is more efficient and able to withstand waves and weather.
As well, the location in the powerful Antilles Current and fish feed that contains no antibiotics, hormones or chemicals help make it an environmentally sound farm.
While O'Hanlon welcomes legislation that would make aquaculture easier, he said it's critical that any newcomers to fish farming follow similar practices.
"We've had people approach us and look at what we're doing and run off with a similar idea to do it on their own," he said. "It's not an easy thing to do right." |
