Fresh from the farm (pro)

A commercial-scale aquaculture project five miles off Mission Beach &#8211; potential boon to depleted fishing stocks, or added stress on our already-taxed oceans?

At maximum capacity, our solitary project would triple the total amount of seafood landed in San Diego County and quadruple the total value.

Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute has proposed a commercial-scale aquaculture project five miles west of Mission Beach to answer two critical questions: Is offshore aquaculture environmentally sustainable? And, under U.S. and California regulations, is it commercially viable? If the answer to both is “yes,” then San Diego can lead the nation in developing a new, green industry the right way.

Currently, the United States imports 80 percent of its seafood, half of it farmed. Demand for seafood is growing rapidly due to population growth and proven health benefits. Yet wild fisheries are at their sustainable limits. To meet demand, we need to increase supplies, in large part through fish farming. We can do this in the United States or we can increase our imports from China, home to 70 percent of worldwide aquaculture, and other countries.

My fellow scientists at Hubbs and I believe we should do it here. Some early aquaculture practices raised legitimate concerns that our project is designed to address or eliminate.

Concentrations of fish waste and uneaten food can be an issue in an enclosed or nonflushing body of water, such as Mission Bay. However, five miles offshore, in water 300 feet deep with a consistent current, there should be no more impact than when a school of fish swims by. Hubbs' environmental model predicts this, and for confirmation the proposed project would be rigorously monitored.

Escape of non-native species is easily addressed by using the right equipment and by raising only species commonly found in local waters. Our permit applications specify striped bass, white sea bass, California halibut and California yellowtail, all established here. If any fish escape, they would simply increase the wild population for a brief time.

Using fish to feed fish is a concern for two reasons. On the environmental side, it is interpreted as causing a net loss of protein – even though wild fish generally consume more protein per pound than do farmed fish. On the economic side, the bulk of a fish farm's cost is feed, and the impetus to develop less-expensive feed with more soy protein or food processing by-products is driving extensive research by Hubbs and others.

Finally, fish farming will not compete with commercial fishing, whose operators are best suited to also be operators of offshore farms. Commercial boats can service offshore farms and bring the fish to shore, while existing processing plants can prepare farmed fish for market. As commercial fishers struggle with traveling farther to catch fewer fish, the environmental benefits of getting a catch only five miles out are compelling.

We will confirm that there are no significant environmental impacts as we scale up to full production. At maximum capacity, our solitary project would triple the total amount of seafood landed in San Diego County and quadruple the total value. That economic impact is hard to ignore.

This project, of national significance, would be spearheaded by a not-for-profit scientific institution with an environmental ethic and a 45-year history of solving problems. By reducing pressure on wild fisheries while providing healthy seafood, Hubbs believes this project meets our mission: “to return to the sea some measure of the benefits derived from it.”

Kent is president of the San Diego-based Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute.


