To judge by recent reports from Hawaii—once regarded as the Silicon Valley of aquaculture due to its offshore lease laws, wealth of fishing and marine science experts, and 200,000-square-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ)—things are not working out quite as hoped. One pioneering OOA operation has declared bankruptcy; another is seeking $5 million in financing.
Open Ocean Aquaculture (OOA) is a hoped-for solution to the problems generated by fish farms operated in calm waters near shore. The idea is that putting farm nets further out to sea in wilder winds and currents will disperse the impacts of growing fish more quickly.
Governments around the world, including the U.S. and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), have signed on to the idea of OOA, but not without criticism.
Backers see plenty of room for growth; 3.4 million square miles of waters surround the U.S. If everyone eventually agrees on the ground rules and impacts, farms could fourish.
A trio of Hawaiian farms is attempting to raise moi, kahala and ahi in farms as far as three miles off the coast. Some of the huge cages—177 feet in diameter—are capable of containing 20,000 fish, weighing up to 100 pounds each. One of the three companies, Hawaiian Oceanic, predicts it can grow 12 million pounds of ahi a year, at a value of $108 million.
Read the complete story from Take Part.