offshore aquaculture

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.

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…