Blog Posts: Aquaculture

By Mitch Jones

Today, our friends over at Grist published a story about the attempt to bring open ocean aquaculture, that is, industrial fish farms, to U.S. territorial waters. The story is based on a recent press release from Kampachi Farms trumpeting their recent attempts to demonstrate the viability of drifting cages in the open ocean.

Unfortunately the story leaves out many of the questions that surround this project…

First, while the story says the purpose of the Velella Project was to show that the cages could operate in open waters, the cages have been seen only four miles off the coast and have attracted wild species that would normally be fished. The presence of these cages will likely have a negative impact on local fishermen’s ability to catch fish, not only because they attract wild fish, but also because of the harm they could cause to the local marine environment.

Second, fish escapes and equipment loss can also reap havoc on the environment immediately surrounding fish farms. In the summer of 2011, Kona Blue Water Farms reported that they lost two of their empty net pens while towing them out to sea, as the Grist story mentions. What is left unsaid is that the whereabouts of one of these cages is unknown. Attempts to sink it failed and it may still be floating at or just below the surface of the water creating a potential hazard for shipping activity. No environmental study of the impacts has been conducted on the sinking of the second cage.

Third, despite initial claims that the project would produce 2,000 fish at 8,000 pounds total, the company’s release is completely silent on how much fish was produced, leading us to question how much of a success it actually was. The public has a right to know all the facts. After all, the project was partly funded with U.S. tax dollars: $500,000 from the National Science Foundation and $242,889 from National Marine Fisheries Service.

Finally, if this project was a much of a success as the company claims, and is reported in this story, how come the next phase of the project will use anchored cages? If the project successfully proved the viability of drifting cages, why won’t the cages be drifting any longer? And, if the next round of cages are anchored, what does this mean for the supposed environmental benefits of having the cages drift? Surely anchored cages will not lead to the wide dispersal of fish waste promised by this project.

Instead of providing a solution, the Velella Project raises serious problems with the concept of open ocean aquaculture. To learn more about the decade-plus track record of setbacks and failures in open ocean aquaculture read our report Fishy Farms.

By Rich Bindell and Tim Schwab

Today marks one week to go before the holiday frenzy kicks into its highest gear. By next Friday, people will be so focused on holiday logistics that many consumers wouldn’t notice if the FDA green lighted AquaBounty Technology’s Genetically Engineered (GE) salmon, a scientific experiment they’ve been reviewing for close to two decades.

Although that will make for a nervous week around here, we are heartened by this past week’s latest round of criticism for GE salmon, as scientists lined up in the halls of Congress and on a National Public Radio debate to discredit a dodgy environmental risk-assessment of GE salmon. With so many concerns raised about its environmental impact, and given the FDA’s history of making controversial announcements right before a holiday, could this be the year the agency approves GE salmon?

When the FDA announced16 months ago that GE salmon was safe, many of us worried that regulatory approval was imminent. But in the intervening months, the agency has suffered slings and arrows from scientists and legislators alike, unhappy with the agency’s inadequate risk assessment of GE salmon, which, if approved, would be the first genetically engineered animal to enter the U.S. food supply. Read the full article…

By Zach Corrigan

[Originally posted on The Stranger’s SLOG blog.)

In case you haven’t heard, the extremely fast-spreading disease that decimated salmon populations in Chile and Scotland has now hit the West Coast. As Eli Sanders pointed out last week on Slog, the virus, known as infectious salmon anemia, has been described as one that “no country has ever gotten rid of it once it arrives.”

Thankfully, it doesn’t affect humans—at least, not in the traditional sense. But if it wipes out West Coast salmon populations, it could take a large number of fishing jobs with it. And that would affect us deeply.

So how did we get to this point? And who, or what, is to blame?

While we can’t say for certain what caused this particular outbreak of infectious salmon anemia, salmon fish farms present the perfect conditions for the disease to spread like wildfire. The devastation of the salmon industry in Chile, for instance, can be directly linked to the filthy conditions inherent in these factory fish farms.

So what exactly are factory fish farms? They’re literally factory farms of the ocean—thousands of fish are kept in close quarters in open net pens or cages. Fish farms often necessitate the use of chemicals, pesticides and antibiotics to curb the filth and disease that arises in these conditions. This is not only bad for the environment and the fish; it’s bad for the consumer as well, as the toxins and waste can flow freely into the ocean and, ultimately, on to our plates. Read the full article…

The federal government did not have the authority to grant Kona Blue a permit for offshore aquaculture, and they failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of Kona Blue’s offshore aquaculture operations as required under federal law.

While members of Congress were busy dealing with the debt crisis and taking their summer break, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) was moving full speed ahead in opening up our federal waters to factory fish farming.

Back in July, the National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) awarded the first permit for a commercial open ocean fish farm in federal waters to Kona Blue Water Farms Inc. The company is currently towing a cage full of Kona Kampachi in eddies off of the Western coast of Hawaii Island, Hawaii.

Food & Water Watch along with KAHEA, The Hawaiian Environmental Alliance, filed a lawsuit against NOAA, alleging that the federal government lacked the authority to grant the permit and failed to adequately assess the environmental impacts of Kona Blue’s offshore aquaculture operations as required under federal law.

A bill introduced by Representative Don Young (R-AK) to stop the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior from permitting factory fish farms is needed more than even to stop such reckless permitting.

Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter submitted an op-ed to The Hill’s Congress Blog calling on Congress to weigh in on the factory farm issue. We are re-posting it here… Read the full article…

By Rich Bindell

If you’re passionate about sustainability, localized agriculture, recycling and supporting a green economy, you should know there’s a new kid in town. The Recirculating Farms Coalition in New Orleans, LA, has launched their national campaign promoting locally grown, accessible food and the creation of green jobs. They are positioning themselves to become a major hub in the burgeoning industry of eco-friendly farms that incorporate recirculating aquaculture. Food & Water Watch is especially proud of the new kid, particularly because Marianne Cufone, a former Food & Water Watch-er, is the executive director. Ecocentric published a nice interview with Marianne on their blog. The Recirculating Farms Coalition (RFC) is a collaborative group of farmers, educators and non-profit organizations dedicated to establishing local food systems using the principles of sustainability and energy efficiency. RFC works with recirculating farms, which produce fish, vegetables, fruits, herbs, flowers and other plants while re-using up to 99 percent of their water, recycling waste and operating without the use of harmful substances like antibiotics and chemicals. Read the full article…

A few of us here blinked our eyes a few times when we saw the headline, “McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish to carry MSC eco-label.” Did McDonald’s just earn itself an eco-label in Europe? Maybe it was the reputation of the fast food giant that fueled our doubt. But another reason behind our skepticism is the questionable claims behind the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) label.

McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish is made with New Zealand hoki — a fish that many believe should not have been certified by MSC. This particular fishery, in fact, has previously violated that country’s Fisheries Act. Because of the hoki’s troubled history, its certification by MSC has been controversial. MSC’s decision to certify the fishery that supplies McDonald’s’ with their hoki is a prime example of how eco-labels are not always what they seem. Read the full article…

Seafood lovers, pay close attention…

Approximately 80 percent of all seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, and about half of that comes from fish farms. Instead of picturing your fish being caught by fishermen on a boat, it might be more accurate to imagine instead that they are being raised in a factory fish farm in China or Indonesia and shipped to the U.S. in boxes.

Raising fish in the crowded conditions of a factory fish farm leaves them susceptible to disease, so many foreign fisheries use antibiotics (some approved, some not), the residues of which can sometimes contain cancer-causing drugs. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report, basically saying that the FDA, which oversees the safety aspect of seafood as it relates to these residues, is having trouble doing so due to their “limited” capacity to properly manage their inspection program. GAO recommended more funding to reinforce the program and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), is vowing to fight for it. Read the full article…

Nature’s Public Comment?

A Kona Blue Water Farms boat heads out to sea with a few pieces of "fishing" gear.

Kona’s goin’ fishin’, but it seems to have lost both of its fishin’ poles! Kona Blue Waters Farms, the company that is waiting on a “fishing” permit for its fish farm operation off the coast of Hawaii, has officially reported to NOAA that both of its cages broke free while they were being towed behind a boat. That was really fast. NOAA hasn’t yet green-lighted Kona’s controversial fish farm experiment, but Kona has already lost their cages faster than you can say, “that’s not fishing.” The good news is that the cages were empty, so no fish escaped and there isn’t a risk of spreading the diseases that are typically associated with fish farms. But will this incident be enough of a red flag for NOAA to proceed with necessary caution on such projects? Considering the fact that there will be little opportunity for the public to comment on whether or not Kona should be allowed to set up a fish farm in federal waters, is it possible that this is nature’s public comment? More importantly, will Kona be fined for littering? Read the full article…

The federal government suddenly considers factory fish farms like this one worthy of a "fishing" permit.

In the classic song Fishin’ Blues, roots and blues legend Taj Mahal romanticizes the simplicity of going down to his favorite fishing hole to partake in one of our oldest traditions. He sings, “Many fish bite if you’ve got good bait. Here’s a little tip that I would like to relate. With my pole and my line, I’m a-goin’ fishin’, yes I’m goin’ fishin’, and my baby’s goin’ fishin’ too.” Apparently, even if you want to bring along a few giant round fish cages and set them up off the coast of Hawaii, soon you can go fishin’ too. According to our federal government – fish farming is the same as fishing.

There are some in the seafood industry who want to expand factory fish farming into open ocean waters, similar to the industrial factory farms we already have on land. Open ocean aquaculture (factory fish farming) has a lot of companies seeing dollar signs, but there are lots of reasons why it’s a bad idea. Unfortunately, this bad idea is taking another step in the wrong direction thanks to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – the agency tasked with conserving and managing our ocean’s natural resources. Read the full article…

Net pens, used for factory fish farming, are destructive to the marine environment. Even if you change their shape and keep them underwater, they are still destructive to the marine environment.

Coke’s Dasani brand has introduced a new kind of plastic bottle, 30 percent of which is made from plant-based materials. (Please explore this phenomenon further via Jennifer Grayson’s blog at The Red, White and Green.) The ad declares that the bottle is made with “100 percent recyclability.” This, of course, refers to the idea of consumers placing their empty water bottles into a recycling bin to be reconstituted for further use at a later time. But, if only 25 percent of plastic bottles actually reach the recycling bin, does 100 percent recyclability have much meaning? I think it does — it’s meaning is to distract consumers from how damaging the product is to the environment, especially since the remaining 75 percent of plastic bottles end up in landfills.

Seeing an ad with a vibrant green plant blooming into a plastic bottle from the heart of its lovely pedals is enough to convince many consumers that a product is eco-friendly, but it’s merely a distraction. It’s up to us to know that the product within that fancy, useless bottle is actually something that already belongs to us, regardless of what kind of bottle is used to contain it. Plant bottle or plastic bottle, buying bottled water is destructive and not at all necessary. Read the full article…