Feds must end push for ocean aquaculture

The world’s oceans are in trouble. Litter, urban runoff, dead zones, leaking oil rigs and other factors put stress on sea life, notably fish, and cause alarming changes in our marine environment. One thing we do know for sure is that we should not be adding stress and pollution to ocean ecosystems. That’s why it is so baffling that we are seeing a renewed major push by the federal government for industrial ocean fish farms. Lobbyists for the companies who build these aquaculture operations would have you believe the industry is a solution for preserving our marine environment by growing fish to ease the need for taking more fish from the wild. In reality, however, these facilities can exacerbate many of the problems already hurting our oceans.  Open water fish farms are comprised of giant floating net pens with thousands of fish all eating, excreting and growing in one space. Cages used to contain fish are flow-through, meaning anything from the pens – excess feed, fish wastes, and any chemicals – can go directly into natural waters. Read the rest here 15:18

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