Wednesday, December 18, 2019

Update: Fish Farming company seeks permit to operate in Gulf off of Sarasota: Public Hearing Jan. 28, 2020

Update: Sign a statement from the Center for Biological Diversity opposing this effort to open our region to commercial fish farming. 

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A company known as Kampachi Farms LLC is seeking to operate a commercial fish farm in federal waters approximately 40 miles off the coast of Sarasota County. An EPA public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 28, 2020 - details below.

Kampachi Farms Pod on surface

The EPA-Region 4 will hold a public hearing regarding the proposed issuance of an NPDES permit (FL0A00001) for the Kampachi Farms LLC-Velella Epsilon marine aquaculture facility. 

The draft NPDES permit authorizes the discharge of industrial wastewater from a marine net-pen aquaculture facility located in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico at approximately 45 miles southwest of Sarasota, Florida (near 27° 7’ 20.51”N, 83° 12’ 1.37”W).

The facility would include a supporting vessel and a single floating cage in a water depth of 130 feet. The project would begin culturing a single cohort of approximately 20,000 Almaco jack and produce a maximum harvest of 88,000 pounds. A video of Kampachi Farms Velella project can be seen here.

Mote Marine has been identified to be the monitor of the proposed site and will be raising the hatchlings. 


The Sarasota hearing details:
  • Date: January 28, 2020
  • Time: 5:30 PM - 9:30 PM
  • Location: Wave Center
  • Mote Marine Laboratory
  • 1600 Ken Thompson Pkwy, Sarasota, FL 34236
All persons interested in the draft NPDES permit are invited to attend the public hearing. If you are interested in attending the hearing, the EPA encourages you to pre-register at least 72 hours in advance. You may also register to speak when you arrive at the hearing.

At one time, fish farming was in operation in state waters off the coast of Washington state, but now has been banned there.

Norway has been besieged by problems threatening its salmon:
Against the Current states: "Fish farming in open net pens is considered the largest man-made threat to wild stocks."
The Independent reported in May, 2019: "Eight million salmon killed in a week by sudden surge of algae in Norway."
Norway has banned new fish farming licenses, but existing fish farms continue to operate there.

A variety of articles reported by US News & World Reports, including one by NPR, describe fish farming. The reported results do not bode well for our Florida coastline, including an increase in nitrogen levels in an area already afflicted with poor wastewater controls and red tide.

A guest column by Florida environmental attorney Marianne Cufone raising concerns about impacts of fish farming on red tide and more was published in the 11.29.19 Herald Tribune: Off Sarasota’s coast, a new industrial threat.

Sierra Club Florida News announcement of the public hearing.

Friends of the Earth has addressed the dangers of fish farming.

The draft NPDES permit, draft Environmental Assessment, and other supporting documents can be found here.

The public comment period will be open through February 4, 2020. Information on how to submit comments can be found at that same website.

Public comment from the Suncoast Waterkeeper to EPA Sept. 29, 2019.

Again, pre-register here.


2 comments:

  1. Fish farming is neither good for the environment or a good supply of fish protein. It has been decimating wild salmon stocks and infecting them with the same diseases the farmed fish suffer. Please do not let the happen.
    Capt. Pete Greenan
    Sarasota, Fl.

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  2. Thank you for your comment. A group of environmental organizations has just filed a joint comment to the EPA. It can be found here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByYEs7y0lT7MWkJxYTEtMGdkSmJwTTVzVExoVHRvQV9xZ1Ew/view?usp=sharing

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