Are you in favor of Gulf of Mexico fish farming?

The possibility of Gulf of Mexico aquaculture recently moved another step closer to reality. But the small step forward ? mainly just adding a few proposed rules for such fish farming ? caused fishers and environment to once again speak out against the proposal that they fear will unfairly compete against local fishers and pollute local waters.

To read the full story on NOLA.com, click here. The plan would make the Gulf the first region in the country to develop open-ocean aquaculture in federal waters, potentially reaping another 64 million pounds of seafood from the ocean.

Opponents to fishing farming often cite wide-ranging concerns about damage to the Gulf's environment, as well as the effect the industry could have on traditional fishing communities that have relied on catching and selling wild fish. But supporters say the industry could provide an alternative domestic supply to imported, farm-raised seafood.

Domestic aquaculture provides only about 5 percent of the seafood consumed in the U.S, according to NOAA.

The federal government has promoted aquaculture over the past few years as a way to address the growing amount of imported seafood needed to keep pace with demand in the United States.

Approximately 84 percent of the seafood consumed in the United States is imported, with about half of that from aquaculture farms in other countries, according to U.S Department of Commerce.

In 2009, the same year the initial Gulf council plan was drafted, aquaculture crossed the threshold of providing more than half of all seafood consumed worldwide, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.

That means more than half of the fish and shellfish consumed globally is now raised by humans and no longer caught in the wild. In 1970, farmed fish only accounted for about 6 percent of global seafood supply.

Source: http://www.nola.com/environment/index.ssf/2013/02/are_you_in_favor_of_gulf_of_me.html

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