Gulf of Mexico fish farms move another step closer to reality

The possibility of Gulf of Mexico aquaculture moved another step closer to reality this month. But the small step forward ? mainly adding a few rules for the proposed fish farming ? caused fishers and environmentalists to once again speak out against an idea they fear will unfairly compete against local fishers and pollute local waters.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, which advises the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service on fish and fishing in the Gulf, recently approved the final draft of its proposed rule to regulating offshore Gulf marine aquaculture. After some more federal review and an expected public comment period this summer, the idea is that sometime next year businesses could begin applying for permits to establish red snapper, grouper and other finfish-farms in Gulf federal waters, which in Louisiana extend from three to 200 miles offshore.

The plan would make the Gulf the first region in the country to develop open-ocean aquaculture in federal waters, potentially reaping another 64 million pounds of seafood. The plan prohibits shrimp farming, and only allows the raising of native Gulf species.

It calls for 10-year offshore fish-farm permits with a total cap on farmed fish production at 64 million pounds. The council initially expected five to 20 such operations to emerge within the first 10 years, but with start-up costs estimated in the $5 million to $10 million range, the level of interest largely is unknown.

The final draft changes this month were small, mainly creating additional safeguards. For example, the council amended the proposed rules to require open-water fish farmers to immediately stop activities, and remove all components, if it?s found that the organisms are genetically modified or if certain pathogens are found in the facility.

But after the council?s final draft regulations passed, the New Orleans-based Recirculating Farms Coalition spoke out against the measure, and the Southern Shrimp Alliance also expressed concern.

?Open water fish farming is well documented to be highly problematic for both people and our planet,? wrote Marianne Cufone, the founder of the Recirculating Farms Coalition. Cufone used to direct the fish and oceans program at Food and Water Watch, a Washington, D.C.-based group that has pushed hard against such farming.

See the below Food and Water Watch video, featuring Cufone, discussing the group's stance:

Opponents to fishing farming often cite wide-ranging concerns about damage to the Gulf's environment, as well as the effect the industry could have on traditional fishing communities that have relied on catching and selling wild fish. But supporters say the industry could provide an alternative domestic supply to imported, farm-raised seafood.

Domestic aquaculture provides only about 5 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S, according to NOAA. And about 80 percent of domestic marine aquaculture consists of shellfish, mainly oysters, clams and mussels.

The federal government has promoted aquaculture over the past few years as a way to address the growing amount of imported seafood needed to keep pace with demand in the United States.

Approximately 84 percent of the seafood consumed in the United States is imported, with about half of that from aquaculture farms in other countries, according to U.S Department of Commerce.

In 2009, the same year the initial Gulf council plan was drafted, aquaculture crossed the threshold of providing more than half of all seafood consumed worldwide, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

That means more than half of the fish and shellfish consumed globally is now raised by humans and no longer caught in the wild. In 1970, farmed fish only accounted for about 6 percent of global seafood supply.

While the Gulf council?s move would be the first regional acceptance of open-ocean aquaculture, some experimental and research aquaculture facilities in federal waters already exists, perhaps the most well-known being the National Science Foundation-funded fish farming Velella Project in Hawaii. See the below video on the Velella Project:

Source: http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/02/gulf_of_mexico_fish_farms_move.html

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