DCO2 submitted comments in response to NOAA’s efforts to identify aquaculture opportunity areas in Alaska. In broad strokes, the request for comment asks stakeholders to provide suggestions over a number of parameters, as NOAA has begun with only considering state waters that are within 25 miles of a coastal community population center, and state waters that do not regularly experience …
DCO2 Comments on the Transboundary Permit Request
At issue is whether Cooke Aquaculture, a Canadian farmed salmon company with a poor track record of environmental stewardship and social responsibility, should be granted a permit to transship farmed salmon from the state of Maine to Canada (for processing), using Canadian-flagged vessels. NMFS has published this opportunity for public review and to comment on this proposal. The application for …
Comments Re: Fishery Descriptions
NOAA is required to maintain a list of fisheries and their interactions with marine mammals. NOAA wants to include fish raised in fish farms to this list. Farmed fish is not a fishery! DCO2 submitted comments, outlining issues with offshore fish farming, concerns about finfish farm interactions with marine mammals, and the fact that fish farms are not a fishery. …
Request for Information; Data for Marine Spatial Studies in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
There are several reasons why the most prudent option is for NOAA to refrain from establishing AOAs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Chief among these, is that NOAA lacks the legal authority to regulate aquaculture in federal waters. Furthermore, there are grave ecological consequences and inevitable harms to other ocean industries in these regions, should offshore finfish …
DCO2 Comments on NOAA Fisheries’ Draft National Seafood Strategy
Thank you for this opportunity to provide feedback on NOAA Fisheries’ Draft National Seafood Strategy. Don’t Cage Our Oceans endorses the comments of our member organization, North American Marine Alliance (NAMA), and would like to provide additional comments. First, we welcome an open conversation on how NOAA Fisheries can support national seafood systems in a way that benefits people and …
Public Comment on Draft PEA Aquaculture Research and Development
RE: Public Comment on Draft PEA Aquaculture Research and Development Don’t Cage Our Oceans is a coalition of 26 diverse organizations representing 4.3 million people, working together to stop the development of offshore finfish farming in the United States through federal law, policies, and coalition building. DCO2 uplifts values-based seafood systems led by local communities. We and our members firmly …
Comments on the Gulf of Mexico AOAs
Don’t Cage Our Oceans submitted comments to NOAA on their Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement forIdentification of Aquaculture Opportunity Areas in Federal Waters of the Gulf ofMexico. Click on the map to read the full letter.
Comments on the Southern CA Bight AOAs
Don’t Cage Our Oceans submitted comments to NOAA regarding their Notice of Intent To Prepare a Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Identification of One or More Aquaculture Opportunity Area(s) in Southern California. Click on the map to read the full letter.
Letters to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Don’t Cage Our Oceans Coalition sent letters to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on their Strategic Plans to Enhance Regulatory Efficiency in Aquaculture, and for Aquaculture Research, expressing concerns about plans to speed up development of a new industrial offshore finfish aquaculture industry in the U.S.