Fish Farming

“You know the best way to end up with a million dollars in farming?” jokes Rod Greder, a former cattle farmer from Iowa. “Start with 2 million.”

What could become the nation's first deep water aquaculture facility in federal offshore waters was first proposed in 2019 and would be located about 45 miles off Sarasota in the Gulf of Mexico.

The organizations say the federal agency failed to consider the impacts deep sea aquaculture would have on threatened and endangered species.

The facility, which would be operated by Hawaii-based company Ocean Era, would host 20,000 almaco jack in a pen suspended 45 miles offshore in the Gulf. The EPA granted the company a discharge permit last October.

Officials in Sarasota and Holmes Beach have been voicing opposition to Ocean Era's proposed Almaco jack fish farm for months.

The bill's introduction follows recent efforts by the Trump administration to accelerate deepwater fish farming, including in the Gulf of Mexico.

This week a federal court ruled that offshore fisheries cannot be permitted in the Gulf of Mexico under existing policy. Opponents of a proposed fish farm…

On the final day of public comment Tuesday, Sarasota City officials spoke out against a proposed fish farm off the coast of Sarasota.Last summer, the…

A proposed fish farm in federal waters is nearing its next regulatory hurdle. On Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will host a public…

What could become the nation's first fish farm in federal offshore waters has been proposed for 45 miles off Sarasota in the Gulf of Mexico. And it is…