Hawai'i Fisheries Initiative - The Hawaii Institute for Public Affairs

Christopher Mann, a senior officer at The
Pew Charitable Trusts, addressed the
implications of the 2007 aquaculture bill:
If done correctly, aquaculture can be
an important and sustainable source of
seafood. However, the scientific evidence
shows finfish farming causes considerable
damage to the marine environment.
Before the federal government allows
aquaculture in the open ocean, it must
first address the substantial environmental
problems that continue to plague
the industry.
Some forms of aquaculture, such as
shellfish farming, contribute positively
to the global seafood supply. Raising
salmon or tuna as currently practiced
does not appear to be environmentally
sustainable. The Pew Charitable Trusts
is particularly concerned about the
dependence of marine fish farming
on wild fish for food, which results in
farmed fish consuming many times their
weight in wild fish. This is no way to
feed the world, as it ultimately reduces
the amount of fish available for human
consumption. In addition, escaped
farmed fish can compete with wild fish,
transmit disease, and harm the genetics
of struggling wild fish stocks. This is
no time to jeopardize the modest gains
we are making in restoring wild fish
populations.
Until Congress and the administration
address these concerns, it is imprudent to
open our offshore waters to this new use.
We cannot allow short-term economic
interests to trump long-term conservation
of our marine resources. We made this
mistake in the past with the management
of our fishing industry, and we are only
now beginning to see some stocks recover.
The administration’s proposal has a long
way to go before it becomes the kind of
aquaculture policy the nation needs.
The devil is truly in the details here.
We need a precautionary approach that
puts protection of wild fish and marine
ecosystems first. The Pew Charitable
Trusts is committed to working with the
Department of Commerce and others to
ensure that aquaculture development
proceeds along this path. 133
Wespac also notes several areas of
concern, primarily in user conflicts
and environmental impacts. The
council encourages the development
of aquaculture operations that follow
certain guidelines, including the priority
use of genetic stocks native to Hawai‘i,
opposition to collection of juvenile native
species, regulation of the collection of
native broodstock to prevent overfishing,
and safeguards for protecting the
health of wild species from disease
and genetic influences of captive fish.
Other recommendations include locating
aquaculture operations to avoid high-traffic
marine areas, as well as away from areas
important to commercial and recreational
fishing. The council also flags protected
marine species interactions, safety
response for natural weather events like
tsunamis and tropical storms, and health
and water quality issues.
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