Kona Blue testifies in support of open ocean aquaculture

FishWise partner Kona Blue testified before Congress, promoting the expansion of offshore aquaculture in the United States. Kona Blue raises yellowtail called Kona Kampachi® in pens in offshore Hawaiian waters. Yellowtail is a large open ocean fish from the genus Seriola, commonly known as Amberjacks (unrelated to Yellowfin tuna).

Neil Anthony Sims CEO/President of Kona Blue testified before Congress asserting the benefits of open ocean aquaculture. His testimony urged Congress to develop plans for open ocean aquaculture and cited potential benefits such as reducing pressure on wild fish stocks, providing Americans with more seafood, and reducing the amount of seafood the US imports. Open ocean aquaculture is controversial since the waste products and uneaten food are free to enter the ecosystem around cages, resulting in environmental degradation. According to the Neil Sims testing done shows there is no discernable difference in water quality both upstream and downstream at his offshore facility. Escapement, transfer of disease organisms, and interactions with local marine life are also foreseeable possibilities in the context of open ocean aquaculture.

George H. Leonard Ph. D., the Aquaculture Program Manager of Ocean Conservancy, testified urging caution in implementing offshore aquaculture. He urged Congress to take a cautionary approach and establish a permitting and regulating system in order to ensure that an unregulated industry does not take hold. Recently, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council announced they were drafting an Aquaculture Fishery Management Plan that would allow offshore aquaculture. Currently, the Gulf Fishery Management Council which operates under the Magnuson-Stevens Act is only in charge of regulating wild-fisheries not aquaculture. According to Dr. Leonard the Gulf Fishery Management Council does not have the resources or expertise to ensure that aquaculture is ecologically sustainable. Dr. Leonard testified that a regulating body in charge of overseeing the implementation of offshore aquaculture must be in place before the industry moves forward or the results will be habitat destruction and other ecological problems. He urged Congress to take action and pass appropriate legislation.