Capps unveils marine farming regulations

By ERIC LINDBERG — Dec. 18, 2009

Farming fish and other seafood in federal waters may soon be possible if legislation introduced this week by Congresswoman Lois Capps is approved.

The National Sustainable Offshore Aquaculture Act of 2009 would establish the first legal regulations for marine farming in waters at least three miles off the coast of the United States. Capps said she plans to develop a regulatory framework that balances environmental considerations with potential economic gains.

“Developing these guidelines has the potential to preserve the integrity of our fragile ocean ecosystems, meet the increasing consumer demand for seafood, reduce stress on wild fish populations and create jobs here at home,” the congresswoman said in a prepared statement.

The United States lags behind other countries of the world when it comes to marine aquaculture, ranking 10th in total production and representing only $1 billion of the industry’s $70 billion annual production, according to 2004 figures from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). A significant amount of farmed seafood is also imported from other countries, resulting in an annual seafood trade deficit of more than $9 billion.

By establishing a permitting and oversight process, the country could significantly boost its domestic aquaculture output, increasing production from half a million tons to 1.5 million tons by 2025, according to preliminary estimates by NOAA. Those figures represent 760,00 tons of fish, 47,000 tons of crustaceans such as shrimp and crab, and 245,000 tons of mollusks such as oysters, clams and mussels.

Capps said her proposed regulations would establish a process for permitting offshore aquaculture coupled with conditions that would protect marine ecosystems and coastal communities. It would also require regional environmental reviews to ensure protection of sensitive ocean habitats, and fund research to track the impact of the new use of federal waters.

The congresswoman noted that an aquaculture plan developed earlier this year by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council was not addressed by NOAA, essentially allowing it to go into effect.

“This piecemeal approach lays the groundwork for a fragmented regulatory system for offshore aquaculture in the United States that could result in significant and potentially irreversible environmental consequences, including water pollution from waste products and chemicals, threats of disease transmission to wild fish populations, harmful effects on native marine species from escaped farmed species, and an increase in the use of wild forage fish for aquaculture needs,” according to Capps’ statement.

NOAA officials apparently plan to offer their own national marine farming policy early next year, Capps said.

Her proposed regulations are being hailed by some environmental leaders, including officials with the Ocean Conservancy, who expressed concern about the potential impact of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s aquaculture plan.

“The legislation offers a science-based, precautionary approach including overarching environmental, socioeconomic and liability standards,” George Leonard, the conservancy’s aquaculture program director, said in a news release. “We need a strong national framework for marine aquaculture before expansion occurs in our federal ocean waters…”

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Offshore Aquacultue : 12/19/2009

The "precautionary approach" allows any imaginary belief to kill a project, which allows any nut group with no real skin in the game to stop the future of offshore aquaculture in the US.
The translation of including "socioeconomic conditions" in decision making is to allow aquaculture competitors like commercial fishermen veto power over aquaculture. This is another way to prevent any offshore aquaculture in the US.
This just means that we will continue to import aquaculture products until the rest of the world decides that our credit is no good. After that, we will just have less seafood and omega-3 fatty acids in our diets.

Dallas Weaver

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Save the Fish : 12/26/2009

We've been raping the oceans for too long. We have no idea how much of the ocean we've destroyed. We have no idea how much of the total biomass we've eaten. How about a total ban on all fishing? We can eat the fish that eat human waste like the Tilapia that they use to consume the human waste in Los Angeles and other cities. Or, just eat cow meat and if we don't like that we can smoke some medicine then we won't mind.

Mr. M.

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