Tuesday August 6, 2024
SeafoodSource —
Anew bill from U.S. Representative Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) would ban U.S. agencies from permitting or supporting offshore aquaculture in federal waters without authorization from Congress.
The Domestic Seafood Production Act (DSPA) would specifically put a halt to ongoing governmental efforts to foster and encourage finfish farming in federal waters as Congress considers the future of offshore aquaculture in U.S. waters.
“Industrial offshore fish farming causes ecological and economic harm to our coastal communities, especially to fishermen and mariculture producers who live and work there,” Peltola’s office stated in a fact sheet on the legislation. “Factory-scale marine fish farming, wholly distinct from other forms of responsibly sited and scaled aquaculture on land or nearshore, harms wild fish populations and other marine wildlife via polluted water, incubation and spread of diseases, use of toxic chemicals, and fish escapes.”
Finfish farming is already banned in Alaska state waters, but the U.S. government has actively promoted offshore aquaculture elsewhere, designating aquaculture opportunity areas where the industry could be successful – an activity that Peltola’s office claims ignores an order from the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.