October 31, 2023

US offshore aquaculture act faces opposition from anti-aquaculture coalition

The SEAfood Act, a bill introduced in the United States Congress aimed at promoting offshore aquaculture, has encountered opposition from a coalition of fishermen who are against the practice, SeafoodSource reported.

The SEAfood Act seeks to authorise NOAA to establish an offshore aquaculture assessment programme, create a grant programme for aquaculture centres of excellence, and commission two reports on aquaculture regulations.

The "Don't Cage Our Oceans" group, which opposes offshore finfish farming, has expressed strong disapproval of the legislation. They claim that offshore aquaculture allows "chemicals, diseases, and untreated waste to flow into the open ocean, posing harm to wildlife, fishing, and coastal communities."

James Mitchell, legislative director of Don't Cage Our Oceans, said that the act's harmful provisions would put local businesses at a disadvantage while encouraging big corporations to construct risky trial facilities without proper oversight to safeguard against environmental disaster.

Colles Stowell, founder of One Fish Foundation and a recreational fisherman, criticised the bill as an attempt to introduce net-pen farming without conducting environmental assessments.

He said the SEAfood Act is a thinly veiled attempt to get industrial net pens operational in federal waters before any meaningful environmental assessments can show they are harming marine ecosystems.

On the other side of the debate, the Coalition for Sustainable Aquaculture, a group that supports offshore aquaculture, stands in favour of the bill. They argue that it is the only measure in Congress that lays the groundwork for an equitable and inclusive seafood economy of both farmed and wild-caught fish while prioritising data and science in the development of offshore aquaculture in the US.

US Representative Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) reintroduced the SEAfood Act this month, with U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (D-California) and U.S. Representative Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) as co-sponsors. The SEAfood Act was initially introduced by former US Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-California) in late 2022 but failed to gain traction before the end of the year.

-      SeafoodSource