NOAA’s Pushing Fish Farms

Are There Too Many Risks?

Without healthy oceans, human life will cease to exist. Critics of aquaculture (raising fish and plants in ocean farms) claim that raising fish in farms pollutes the ocean, creates widespread health issues in fish and risk non-native fish escaping to the wild where they can have an adverse affect on the ecosystem. But the question remains, do the benefits of aquaculture outweigh the potential problems?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration seeks to open the federal waters off the coast of Hawaii for fish farming. There are a plethora of positive things to come from this but with the promise of good, there is also risk. Last year, NOAA helped create fish farms down in the Gulf of Mexico which ended up in a spreading of red tide to wild fisheries in the Gulf.

How can something like this occur? Regulations for US fish farms are still being written and perfected. NOAA has developed many of these and continues to educate the public, especially in areas where fish farms are opened. In the case of the Gulf fisheries, they are suing NOAA because of lack of communication and warning about potential environmental repercussions and marine pollution, arguing that “many industrial aquaculture facilities use large doses of pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, pesticides, fungicides, and algaecides, attempting to protect their investment from diseases, parasites, and various other detrimental organisms.”

Did you know that over half the world’s seafood consumption comes from farms? Everything from salmon to scallops are being farmed now and with population growth being so high, it is helping sustain the demand for fresh fish. The fact of the matter is we need fish farms AND we need healthy oceans. So what’s the solution?

Movements such as what NOAA is doing off the coast of Hawaii is not only necessary but has the potential to be successful because Hawaiian fishermen have worked alongside fish farms for centuries. There are plenty of fish farms in state waters and ponds all throughout the islands. With improved regulations, NOAA can reduce the risk of any costly hazards such as what happened in the Gulf of Mexico.

To keep fish as part of a healthy diet, you will need to rely on farmed seafood at some point. If only to prevent overfishing species, fish farms can work in a variety of ways with fishermen to provide the healthiest, freshest seafood while preserving the delicate ecosystems of our oceans.

Fatima M.
Freelance Blogger