January 27, 2020 — A proposed finfish farm in federally controlled waters will be in the spotlight during a public hearing in Sarasota on Jan. 28. The farm will be the first of its kind in the Gulf of Mexico and discussions are expected to revolve around environmental concerns.
The hearing is part of the Environmental Protection Agency’s permitting process to determine if discharges from the fish will adversely affect the water.
“America imports over 90% of seafood that we eat,” said Neil Sims, CEO of Kampachi Farms. “If folks are really concerned about environmental issues, then they should be focused on growing seafood locally rather than exporting our ecological footprint.”
Kampachi Farms is the Hawaii-based company proposing the finfish farm dubbed Velella Epsilon. The project is proposed as a pilot program to test the viability of fish farms in the Gulf. A single net pen will raise about 20,000 almaco jack roughly 45 miles southwest of Sarasota. The farm is expected to produce about 88,000 pounds of fish.