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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Wednesday, June 8, 2005

Fish farms could get boost from White House plan

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer

Hawai'i aquaculture officials yesterday welcomed a proposal by the Bush administration to dramatically expand the country's fish farming industry by allowing operations up to 200 miles off the nation's coasts.

The Bush administration is looking to aid the fish farming industry with a plan to allow farms up to 200 miles off the nation's coasts.

Associated Press

Citing projects off Hawai'i, New Hampshire and Puerto Rico, the administration yesterday said it was sending a bill to Congress to establish regulations for ocean fish farming in hopes of tapping into one of the world's fastest-growing food industries.

"This is really something," said John Corbin, manager of the state Department of Agriculture's Aquaculture Development Program. "For the United States government to establish a regime for aquaculture in federal waters, it's a milestone."

Most marine farming in the United States is land-based and focused on freshwater fish. But farming of saltwater species, such as salmon and shrimp, has become increasingly common around the world, with much of the catch sold in the United States.

Officials said Hawai'i is already a leader in commercial ocean fishing with two offshore fish farms: Cates International Inc., which is growing moi in cages off 'Ewa Beach, and Kona Blue Water Farms, which is growing kampachi in cages a half-mile off Keahole Point on the Big Island.

Bruce Anderson, president of the Oceanic Institute on O'ahu, said Hawai'i is uniquely situated to help launch the nation's deep-water aquaculture industry.

"Our experience here should bear heavily on regulations for the industry across the country," he said.

The Oceanic Institute, a nonprofit research and development organization dedicated to aquaculture and related matters, is working to establish a Pacific Marine Aquaculture Center to support offshore aquaculture and address development issues in Hawai'i and elsewhere in the Pacific, Anderson said.

Seafood demand is expected to increase rapidly, and officials of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say the United States has fallen behind other countries in fish farming. The United States imports 70 percent of the seafood eaten here and 40 percent is from overseas fish farms.

"Today's action will create jobs and revenues for coastal communities and U.S. businesses by allowing for the expansion of an underutilized industry," Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez said in a statement.

Currently, the United States does not have a regulatory structure in place to allow aquaculture operations in federal marine waters. The bill being sent to Congress would permit fish farming up to 200 miles offshore, to be regulated by NOAA, which is part of the Commerce Department.

Fish farming has been criticized by environmentalists and fishermen who say food fed to farmed fish can pollute the water, create excessive waste in a concentrated area and increase the possibility of parasites and disease in farmed fish. There also are fears that genetically inferior fish could escape from pens and weaken wild stocks.

Jeff Mikulina, director of the Hawai'i chapter of the Sierra Club, said the local group cautiously supports open-ocean fish farming as long as precautions are taken.

While open-ocean fish farming could allay some of the pollution concerns because the waste would be diluted, logistics could be a problem because of the distance from shore. Corbin said new technology must still be developed to allow for such activity.

Officials with Kona Blue Water Farms issued a statement yesterday welcoming the government's efforts to support offshore aquaculture. "As the first commercial integrated hatchery and offshore cage-culturing operation in the country, Kona Blue feels it is especially important that the industry proceed in a sustainable and environmentally conscious manner," the statement said.

Gary Karr, education and training director with the Oceanic Institute, added that the government's effort is especially timely, considering the cost of freshwater aquaculture has increased substantially because of "outrageously expensive" land values.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.