A proposal by the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute to create the nation’s first commercial-scale fish farm in federal waters is on ice.
The San Diego-based research group yesterday said it has asked regulators to put its application on hold while federal agencies and Congress sort out marine policies that could dramatically change the rules for aquaculture operations.
Hubbs hopes to pioneer an era of marine fish farming by testing new technologies and raising millions of fish miles from the county’s shoreline, a strategy that has sparked concerns about managing fish waste and diseases. The institute’s application is seen as a bellwether for aquaculture in federal waters.
“Our hope is that we can resume the process and proceed … at the earliest possible date,” Donald Kent, Hubbs’ president, said in a letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. “Over the next several months, we should have a much clearer picture of what impacts, if any, these various (federal) actions may have and we can then respond accordingly.”
Source: cherrysnapper
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