Indigo

FISH More Ocean Fish Farms Coming to Your Island? Fact Sheet • May 2009

Y

et another ocean fish farm is being proposed off of the coast of the Big Island, Hawaii.

Also called open ocean aquaculture or offshore aquaculture, ocean fish farming is the mass production of fish in huge, often-overcrowded net pens or cages out in open ocean waters. Indigo Seafood is seeking a lease for 80 acres in the Kawaihae area to grow Moi. They have not presented the public with the number of cages or the amount of fish that they intend to produce each year. Indigo Seafood is just another ocean fish farming operation – along with Kona Blue Water Farms, Cates International, and Hawaii Oceanic Technology, Inc. — looking to test out a new industry in Hawaii’s waters. While a single operation may not have an immediately visible impact on the environment, the cumulative impact of several farms along the coast could have unforeseen consequences. Before allowing more operations to develop along our shores, we need to better understand how these intensive fish farms affect human health, the economies of local fishing communities, native Hawaiians, wild fish populations, marine mammals, endangered species, birds, and essential fish habitat. Problems with competing/conflicting interest: Because ocean fish farming facilities take up real space in the environment, they can cause conflict-of-interest problems in areas including fishing grounds and routes to those fishing grounds, vessel traffic lanes, marine reserves, sanctuaries and other protected or fragile areas, and areas of significant multiple use. The proposed Indigo Seafood farm would be located just one mile outside of a whale sanctuary. Economic concerns: Most existing farms require large amounts of funding from the government and/or venture capitalists to continue operations. The industry has failed to demonstrate that ocean fish farming is environmentally sustainable, technically possible or financially viable on a commercial scale. Indigo Seafood will only directly create 10-15 jobs, but might cause an assortment of economic problems by competing with local fishermen. Also, open water fish farming operations elsewhere have been associated with various ecological problems – water pollution, fish escapes, and habitat damage to name a few. The public bears the costs for these, while the private company reaps the benefits.

Escapes: Ocean fish farming uses cages, net pens, or other containers to hold fish. The structures, even if welldesigned and well-built, are subject to complications like severe weather, sharks and other predators, equipment failure, and human error. Fish escapes can jeopardize the recovery of depleted or endangered species and lead to the spread of diseases, breeding with wild populations, and disruption of natural ecosystems. While Indigo Seafood plans to use the same genetic stock as wild Moi, farmed fish can be behaviorally and even physically different than wild fish. They often lack basic instincts, like mating or protective behaviors to avoid predators, or can be more aggressive. These changes in behavior can alter how natural fish act.

Let’s ask detailed questions to learn more about Indigo Seafood’s project and how it may affect us and our waters. Sample questions: • Of all the possible species to raise, why Moi? • Where is your funding coming from? Is it from the State/High-Tech/Act 221? Is it federal? From private investors? • Is your funding from local or foreign investors, or both? • What is the long-term marketing plan and financial viability? • Who helped prepare your marketing plan? • What type of cages will you use, and how many?

• What are the management plans for: - Cage fouling/ cleaning? - Diseases? - Marine mammals? - Sharks? • How many employees will be hired, and for what kinds of jobs? • What percentage of final product will be sold on the Big Island and in Hawaii vs. Mainland and Japan? • What is the source and content of the fish food? • Who will prepare environmental studies?

• How many fish will be kept in each cage? (400,000?)

• What kind of reception have you received, to date, from local and state officials and agencies?

• What will the visual impact be for Kohala residents and others?

• Will you be in competition with Kona Blue? Randy Cates? Others?

• What onshore operations, including the hatchery, will be required, and where?

• What will you do if rising oil prices increase shipping costs?

Feed inefficiency: Farmed fish are often fed wild fish either directly or after they are processed into fishmeal or fish oil. These prey fish are a crucial part of the marine ecosystem, serving as food for marine mammals, birds and other larger fish. While some of these fisheries are technically “managed” – a plan exists to monitor their population, as with menhaden in the Gulf of Mexico – there is no cap to the amount of fish that can be removed. Over a billion pounds of menhaden are removed from the Gulf each year. Soy is a commonly proposed alternative for feed. However, the impacts of introducing land-based nutrients, which are not natural food for fish, into the marine ecosystem have not been well researched. Ocean fish farms must also be held accountable for the sustainability of what they feed their fish.

the small quantity of newly farmed fish likely to be kept in this country and in Hawaii would not offset the vast amount of fish imported. Most of the fish from ocean fish farms in Hawaii are currently exported to the mainland or Japan.

Water Pollution: Fish wastes, excess food, fish escapes, antibiotics, and various chemicals from fish farms can all result in water pollution and can harm surrounding habitats by poisoning wildlife and causing other disturbances. Wild fish populations may become dependent on feeding on excess feed from the cages – altering their natural behaviors and diet.

The bottom line: Hawaii should not be treated as a testing ground for industrial fish production – especially since these facilities comes with many unanswered questions. What a few individuals stand to gain economically is minor when compared with what the public could lose economically, socially and environmentally.

Trade problems: Ocean fish farming is not likely to end seafood imports to the United States, nor will it dramatically change the trade patterns in Hawaii. Currently, we export about 70 percent of the fish we catch and grow here in the U.S. and import cheaper, often lower-quality, seafood products. Fish grown in ocean fish farms would likely follow the current export pattern, and

Habitat impacts: Dredging, drilling and other sediment and bottom-habitat disturbances like large anchors can cause seagrass and coral die-off, displacement of ocean wildlife, and other potentially significant ecological changes. Cages often act as fish aggregating devices (FADs), as has been evidenced by Cates International on Oahu and by Kona Blue Water Farms in Kailua-Kona of Kohala. This alters the natural behaviors of fish and the marine ecosystem as a whole near the farms.

For more information: web: www.foodandwaterwatch.org email: [email protected] SKRQH '& ‡ &$ &RS\ULJKW‹0D\)RRG :DWHU:DWFK