According to the information available members of the US public are encouraged to give their opinions over a contemplated federal policy, allowing idle Gulf oil rigs to be used as platforms for fish farming. Aquaculture in North America has always been on discussion table. After carefully studying the issues associated with offshore fish farming the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has recommended to the National Marine Fisheries Service that this should be an acceptable activity in the Gulf.
This opens up the floodgates of negative comments, pushed by strong environmental groups full of fraternal funding from rich American foundations. It is found that there were different views pouring in. The opposition to fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico remains strong enough to question whether possible risks are worth the potential benefits.
In the debate it is said that some 80 percent of the seafood consumed in the United States is imported. Anyone who lives near the Gulf can attest that fresh is better. Potentially, 64 million pounds of seafood could be produced annually through fish farming. It is told that overfishing already presents a threat to the marine environment and the existing fishing industry. Only native Gulf species would be allowed to be raised in the fish farms.
On the other hand there are some negative points also such an enterprise could pollute Gulf waters with fish wastes and uneaten food. With thousands of fish in close quarters, any disease outbreak could spread quickly. Any fish that escaped could breed with wild cousins and alter the natural order in the Gulf. It is observed that the potential impact on the marine ecosystem worries conservation groups and commercial fishing organizations in Alabama and Mississippi, who have come out against the plan.
