The call for farming ocean was given by French scientists Jacques Cousteau in 1973. Now with rising demand of seafood, natural resources stretched thin and technology rapidly advancing, farming fish in deep, offshore water seems more and more practical. Addressing this issue in a conference in Newport this week the experts discussed the controversial industry, which has drawn opposition from environmentalists and commercial fishing groups.
Richard Langan, executive director of the University of New Hampshire’s Open Ocean Aquaculture Project, discussed the feasibility of farming fish offshore, while calling the debate “a wicked issue.” Langan has launched programme of a 30-acre demonstration aquaculture facility six miles off the coast of New Hampshire, where it is experimenting with raising halibut, haddock, cod and even steelhead trout in underwater net pens.
According to him an offshore farm must be near seafood markets, he said, and places that allow managers to monitor and control the site from shore. He added that farming the open ocean bears unknowns and potential pitfalls. Storms, high winds and big swells in the Pacific Northwest pose design challenges.
It is told that the environmental impacts of a proposed fish farm would need careful review. Rebecca Goldburg of the Environmental Defense Fund, said that they have to remind ourselves that there are impacts with any form of food production, whether it’s land based or not. Michael Morrissey, director of the Oregon State University Food Innovation Center, expressed that seafood demand is increasing as the world population grows wealthier and consumers see the health benefits of seafood.
