Ocean Fish Farming
- From: "Golden State Poppy" <GoldenStatePoppy@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 17 May 2006 07:49:15 -0700
Ocean fish-farming rules await governor's decision
BAY AREA LAWMAKER DESIGNED STRICT REGULATIONS
By Paul Rogers
Mercury News
California is known worldwide for its wine, strawberries, lettuce and
other farm products.
One day farm-raised halibut, tuna or sea bass could be added to that
list -- all grown in giant floating ocean cages.
To address ecological concerns, a Bay Area state legislator has
successfully pushed through a bill that would give California the
strictest ocean fish-farming rules in the United States.
``For once we're getting out in front of an environmental problem
rather than waiting for a problem to develop,'' said Sen. Joe Simitian,
D-Palo Alto.
Simitian's bill, SB 201, passed the state Senate last week and now sits
on Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk.
The bill would require the California Fish and Game Commission to
identify which coastal locations are best suited for fish farming, or
aquaculture. It also would direct the commission to draw up broad rules
requiring fish-farming companies to reduce pollution and chemicals, tag
all farmed fish, minimize the risk of fish escaping and return each
site ``to its original condition'' after the operation is finished.
The bill would affect only fish farmed in state waters out to three
miles offshore, not shellfish or freshwater fish raised inland in
tanks.
Simitian represents a large part of Silicon Valley, from Redwood City
to south San Jose, as well as Santa Cruz.
He said he's not opposed to fish farming. But he wants to protect
wildlife, water quality and public health as the industry expands.
California's aquaculture industry currently brings in $83 million a
year. It is made up of freshwater fish, such as trout and tilapia,
grown in tanks in Southern California, and also shellfish. No fish are
now commercially farmed off the California coast -- just abalone,
oysters and mussels. Because of concerns over pollution, disease and
escapes, the state in 2003 banned farming of salmon and non-native fish
in all coastal waters.
But demand for farmed fish is growing enormously.
``It's coming. There's no question about that,'' Simitian said. ``We've
seen an immense growth in aquaculture in the last 20 years. We're
trying to protect our coastal waters and our fishing industry.''
In the past 20 years, world aquaculture production has grown fourfold;
it now makes up one-third of the global seafood supply. By 2030
aquaculture is expected to produce half of the world's total fish
catch, according to United Nations estimates.
The reason is simple.
Global population continues to grow. People need protein. Meanwhile,
many ocean species already are overfished. With health-conscious
Americans buying more fish every year, the United States imports 80
percent of the seafood it consumes -- much of it farmed salmon from
places like Chile, Norway and British Columbia.
Studies have shown that without good stewardship, fish farms can cause
environmental problems. When the fish are packed too closely into pens,
diseases such as sea lice can break out and spread to wild fish. Waste
from the pens can smother the bottoms of inlets and bays. And farmed
fish often eat fish meal made of wild fish, further depleting wild
populations.
After negotiating with Simitian, industry officials are neutral on his
bill.
``Demand for fish is increasing at an extraordinary rate, and it is a
good healthful food. We're going to have to have some farmed sources,''
said Rich Matteis, lobbyist for the California Aquaculture Association.
``California is an ideal place for producing fish. We have good weather
and huge demand here. New sets of rules make it more difficult for
aquaculture, however.''
Historically, California hasn't had ocean fish farms because its
coastline doesn't have many sheltered inlets. But technology is
eliminating that obstacle.
Since 1999, scientists at the University of New Hampshire have raised
thousands of cod, steelhead trout, halibut and other fish in
50-foot-tall cages floating six miles off the coast of New England.
Fish waste is diluted in strong ocean currents, and there have been no
escapes, since the cages are made of the same super-strong fibers that
NASA uses to tether astronauts during space walks.
Similar floating cages are used to raise amberjack off Hawaii. A fish
farm to raise striped bass, yellowtail and bluefin tuna also has been
proposed for Platform Grace, an old oil platform 10 miles off the
Ventura County coast.
Last year the Bush administration announced plans to expand America's
aquaculture industry from $1 billion a year to $5 billion a year in the
next 20 years by issuing permits for floating fish farms in federal
waters.
Environmentalists want Schwarzenegger, who has signed laws to crack
down on pollution from cruise ships and who opposes new offshore oil
drilling, to sign Simitian's bill, so it can be used as a model for
other states, and perhaps the nation.
``Arnold has a very strong record on ocean issues,'' said Tim
Eichenberg, of the Ocean Conservancy, an environmental group in San
Francisco. ``We're hopeful that he'll sign the bill.''
.
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