Environmental groups objecting to a Hawaii-based company’s plans to open the first offshore fish farm in the Gulf of Mexico about 45 miles west of Sarasota plan to demonstrate against the proposal before a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency permit hearing on Tuesday.
Kampachi Farms plans to anchor a chain-link mesh pen offshore of Southwest Florida to raise 20,000 almaco jack for human consumption. The fish farm is a pilot project and would not only be the first for the Gulf but also the first in federal waters in the continental United States. If it works, more are expected to follow, both here and elsewhere.
