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SCCF Policy Director Presents on Industrial Fish Farming
SCCF Environmental Policy Director Matt DePaolis will analyze the environmental impacts of a recently permitted industrial fish farm off the coast of Sarasota in an upcoming online panel discussion hosted by Healthy Gulf.
The federal government and private companies are proposing multiple industrial fish farms off the Gulf coasts of Florida and Texas — threatening the health of Gulf waters and wild fish stocks.
A pilot project for the first large-scale fish farm off the Gulf coast of Sarasota County has received federal approval. Ocean Era Inc. — a Hawaii-based corporation — will create pens 45 miles offshore, where 20,000 red drum — also known as redfish — will be raised for a year.
Industrial aquaculture facilities are intensive operations that generate large amounts of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) and waste products, require heavy doses of antibiotics and other chemicals to maintain fish health, and create farmed populations with low genetic diversity. SCCF’s scientists believe that this project will impact water quality in an area of the Gulf prone to red tide and other harmful algal blooms, and the operation has the potential to impact native fish stocks.
Join Healthy Gulf in an online webinar as we learn more about these proposed fish farms, work to protect and uplift sustainable local seafood, and how you can help stop the further industrialization of the Gulf.
Other panelists include:
- James Mitchell, Legislative Director, Don’t Cage Our Oceans
- Melvin Jackman, Coastal Advocate, Hermitage Bay, Newfoundland
- Christian Wagley, Florida-Alabama coastal organizer, Healthy Gulf