May 31, 2019 — About three miles from shore, a fishing boat tethers to an immense circular ring bobbing on the surface.
The fish pen sways with the current but is moored to the ocean floor nearly three hundred feet below. Inside the carefully structured net, hundreds of Yellowtail flash as they move effortlessly up and down the water column.
The pen casts a shadow and as with pads of broken kelp, wild fish cluster near, claiming shelter in the open sea while others shuttle beneath the pen looking for food.
This is the vision that Don Kent, CEO of Hubbs Seaworld Research Institute (HSWRI) shares with scientists, the Port of San Diego and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). While shellfish farming has been successful locally for years, ocean finfish pens would be a first for the region.
Today Americans import 90% of the seafood they consume. Fish farming could reduce that percentage and harvesting close to home would lower the carbon footprint.
How it would benefit local markets and fishermen is another question.
Eating fish is a healthy, environmentally positive option and aquaculture can make the benefits more accessible and affordable. The scientists at Sustainable Fisheries point out, “The more seafood that is eaten in place of cow, the better, since [industrial] bovine farming is the largest driver of rainforest and biodiversity loss on the planet.”