Take action to stop floating factory farms!

Factory farming is one of the worst perpetrators of animal cruelty -- and fish farms are no exception. Fish are stuck in dark, crowded nets. They spend their lives in parasitic waters filled with the bodies of dead fish.

But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is pushing to bring more factory fish farms to our coastlines. I need your help to stop this abusive industry.

Comments

Dear Mr. Tosatto:

I am deeply concerned over NOAA’s continued push to bring marine finfish aquaculture facilities to federal ocean waters in the United States. I was alarmed to see the latest announcement that the agency is moving forward with a plan to create an aquaculture management program in the Pacific Islands Region. For many reasons, I am opposed to this plan and urge NOAA to stop promoting this harmful form of seafood production.

First, NOAA should stop putting resources into supporting this aquaculture management program because it does not have necessary authority to act. A federal court recently ruled that the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act does not provide authority for NOAA to regulate aquaculture. Aquaculture is not fishing, and before NOAA may regulate this new industry, it must first receive unequivocal authority to do so from Congress through federal legislation. Should NOAA move forward with creating this program, it would be in violation of federal law and legal precedent.

Second, NOAA should stop supporting marine finfish aquaculture altogether because it would only harm the ocean ecosystem, coastal communities, and our wild-capture fisheries, which NOAA was created to protect and foster. Marine finfish aquaculture is the equivalent of an underwater fish feedlot. This form of seafood production is horrible for the environment and public health. Facilities routinely cause massive, catastrophic fish spills -- like the release of more than 263,000 Atlantic salmon from a floating feedlot in Washington State in 2017 -- which spread disease, risk genetic degradation, and create unnecessary competition with our already struggling native fish stocks. They attract and harm predators and other wildlife. They are corporate-driven, which only means higher profits at the expense of sustainable operations and quality products. These factory farms are leading to the demise of our wild fishing communities and related industries by placing downward pressure on fishing prices and creating competition for limited marine space. Moreover, these industrial fish farms directly discharge a whole host of pollutants into public waters aside from spilling farmed fish, including anti-foulants, excess feed, and untreated fish waste. Indeed, other countries that were previously viewed as “leaders” in ocean aquaculture – namely Denmark and Canada – are now moving away from this harmful form of seafood production based on decades of environmental and socio-economic harm. To push forward with developing this industry is folly.

I strongly urge NOAA stop devoting its limited resources to supporting this harmful form of seafood production.

Sincerely,
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