US senator suggests a lengthy delay to offshore aquaculture
When the Obama administration adopted the National Offshore Aquaculture Act earlier this year, hopes were raised that the huge seafood deficit experienced by the US could eventually be reduced. The bill would regulate aquaculture development in the offshore zone between 3 and 200 miles from shore. Environmental groups were quick to criticize the initiative, and they are now using the horrible happenings in the Gulf to further their cause against sustainable aquaculture, as this article by FishnewsEU explains;
UNITED States Senator David Vitter yesterday (Tuesday, May 25) introduced the Research and Aquaculture Opportunity and Responsibility Act, which would result in a three and a half year delay in the development of the US offshore aquaculture industry. Vitter claims his Act would provide relief to struggling marine ecosystems, including those threatened by the recent Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, however a leading fish farming consultant criticised the move as an attack on a sector that could provide economic development for the region. Vitter said: “It’s clear that the marine environment, particularly off the coast of Louisiana, cannot handle any more stress as it begins its recovery from the ongoing oil spill. My bill is a common-sense reprieve to these vital ecosystems that would allow us to step back and assess the potential effects on native species and recreational and commercial fisheries before moving forward with any further aquaculture programmes.”
Aquaculture is the industrial practice of cultivating certain species of fish and aquatic life in cages and designated areas within existing bodies of water. The Research and Aquaculture Opportunity and Responsibility Act would require a broad assessment of the effects of various finfish aquaculture practices around the world. Vitter’s bill would delay the approval of plans, permits, rules and regulations for offshore aquaculture permits for a period of three and a half years. It would also require the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to conduct a thorough report of the environmental and economic effects of open-ocean aquaculture, including the environmental effects on native fish species and the economic effects on the commercial and recreational fishing industries as well as coastal communities. Additionally, the bill would require a report on the economic potential of land-based aquaculture systems.
Vitter’s bill has attracted support from environmental groups, commercial and recreational fishing associations and consumer advocacy groups. “We applaud Senator Vitter for introducing legislation that guarantees a thorough review of open ocean aquaculture," said Wenonah Hauter, Executive Director of the national consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch. "Given the current challenges facing the Gulf, it is important that we avoid introducing any additional factors that could jeopardize the region's socio-economic or environmental health."
However Tom Frese, President of the Miami, Florida based aquaculture consultancy group, Aquasol Inc said: “For many years, Food and Water Watch has been relentless in its attacks on the aquaculture industry. While organisations like the World Wildlife Fund are getting it right by actually working with the aquaculture industry on sustainable solutions, Food and Water Watch is far more interested in attacking the industry and swaying public opinion to its way of thinking. Frequently, they fail to get their facts straight, but this never seems to get in the way of their one-sided agenda. “Contrary to their widely disseminated opinions, the aquaculture industry has in fact made great strides in becoming more sustainable. It should come as no surprise that Food and Water Watch immediately saw an opportunity, misguided as it may be, to capitalise on the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and attempt to set aquaculture in the United States territorial waters of the Gulf of Mexico back another three and a half years.
“At a time in this country when many folks are fed up with politics as usual, it's just sad to see Food and Water Watch ramping up its blatant political gaming of this tragedy. It's also regrettable that Senator Vitter did not take more time to learn more about the many great benefits that sustainable aquaculture can deliver to his constituency before allowing himself to become aligned with one of the most biased critics of this great industry. The reality is that sustainable offshore aquaculture could in fact play a vital role in transforming the Gulf's fishermen from hunters and gatherers into our fish farmers of the future."
