Marine mammals won’t survive offshore fish farming
by James Mitchell
According to CBS News, hundreds of sea lions and dolphins are turning up dead along the southern California coast. Experts believe that a harmful algal bloom is to blame, as the particular algae strain - Pseudo-nitzschia - creates a neurotoxin known as domoic acid.
Domoic acid is harmful to marine mammals and is also a risk to people who consume seafood that have accumulated high levels. The affected animals have been experiencing “foaming at the mouth, seizures, a loss of motor skills,” and in the worst case, death. Experts directly attribute the algal bloom to excess nutrients flushed into the ocean.
In the same region of southern California, the same agency that has been documenting these sea lion and dolphin deaths - NOAA - is also leading the push for a series of offshore “Aquaculture Opportunity Areas” in which companies are being encouraged to industrially grow giant cages full of finfish. These floating concentrated animal feedlot operations produce enormous quantities of wastes that leaks straight into the ocean from the open net pens and can directly contribute to development of and exacerbate existing algal blooms.
High concentrations of domoic acid have been found from Orange County north to San Luis Obispo County, and especially in the Santa Barbara Channel - in the same areas that NOAA has identified to be ideal Aquaculture Opportunity Areas.
Off the coast of San Diego, Pacific Ocean Aquafarms is proposing to raise 11 million pounds of sashimi-grade yellowtail annually, with a similarly devastating impact on the marine environment, while the company hopes to profit by sales to higher-end restaurants here and abroad. Marine mammals are yet again expected to pay the price, as they already do with offshore fish farm operations.Instead of facilitating factory-style fish farming in our waters, the government should be halting this practice.
Tell the Biden Administration to revoke Trump’s Executive Order 13921 to stop fast-tracking the development of offshore fish farms in our oceans. Learn more about the EO here.