SeaWorld Research Institute pretende construir maior aquacultura em mar aberto dos Estados Unidos

By Terry Rodgers - La Jolla Light

Floating fish pens would be placed about five miles offshore.
COURTESY OF HUBBS SEAWORLD RESEARCH INSTITUTE

San Diego-based Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute is currently pursuing government permits to build the largest offshore commercial fish farm in U.S. federal waters, just a few miles off La Jolla.

The project is intended to spur growth of the U.S. aquaculture industry, which has lagged far behind other countries in the production of commercial seafood.

When completed, the sea ranch off San Diego would include a network of 24 fish-rearing pens or "gravity cages" approximately five miles offshore of Mission Beach in water 100 to 300 feet deep.

The project will be installed in phases, beginning with eight floating pens measuring about 11,700 cubic yards, each large enough to hold about 125,000 fish.

When built out over five years, the floating ranch will cover approximately 30 surface acres of water. Initially, the pens will be used to feed or "grow out" hatchery produced striped bass fingerlings. Eventually, the species will be expanded to include Pacific halibut, California yellowtail and white sea bass. The goal is to produce as much as 6 million pounds of fish annually, three times the amount of seafood currently brought to the docks by commercial fishermen in San Diego County.

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