A guessing game is on. How long will it take the federal government to make a decision on the application of Rose Canyon Fisheries, a collaboration of Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and a private equity firm called Cuna del Mar, to develop what would be the nation’s first commercial-scale fish farm in federal waters off the coast of San Diego?
Before making a guess, take note:
▪ The Obama administration, to its credit, has made the expansion of fish farming a priority, with plans to increase marine aquaculture production by 50 percent by 2020 and noting that expansion into federal waters is key.
▪ Even so, one would-be fish-farm developer who proposed a farm in federal waters off Hawaii gave up after discovering all the red tape and moved his project to Mexican waters instead.
▪ Rose Canyon filed its application on Oct. 8, 2014, and it wasn’t until 13 months later, on Nov. 20, that the feds formally launched the process by publishing an official notice in this newspaper. The Environmental Protection Agency will be the lead permitting agency, with assistance from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard and the National Marine Fisheries Service.
This doesn’t even factor in the California Coastal Commission, which, even though this project is in federal waters, still wants a say in it.
The need for domestic fish farming is evident. More than 91 percent of seafood consumed in this country is imported and half of that supply comes from foreign aquaculture.
The Rose Canyon proposal is remarkable in its sensitivity to every factor you can imagine. One Hubbs-SeaWorld official thinks the collaborative could have permits in hand by the middle of 2016. That would be great, but we fear it is hopelessly optimistic. Please, Uncle Sam, prove us wrong.
Source: The San Diego Union-Tribune
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