Sarasota city commissioners are considering a letter that offers a “strong and formal opposition” to a pilot project by Kampachi Farms
SARASOTA — Sarasota city commissioners are considering whether to send a letter that condemns a controversial precedent-setting fish farm planned for waters off the coast of Sarasota to the federal regulators who will decide whether to authorize it.
Commissioners may have a “strong and formal opposition” to a pilot project by Kampachi Farms that plans to anchor a chain-link mesh pen offshore of Southwest Florida, according to a draft letter addressed to Kip Tyler, an environmental engineer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The project aims to raise 20,000 almaco jack about 45 miles southwest of Sarasota County.
Commissioners will debate sending the letter at Monday’s regular meeting at City Hall. The draft letter is proposed by Mayor Jen Ahearn-Koch, who attended a hearing this week at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota. That meeting was part of the EPA’s permitting process to determine if discharges from the fish will adversely affect the water. Kampachi Farms will need several additional permits, should the EPA greenlight the project.
RELATED: Supporters, detractors weigh in on fish farm EPA permit meeting in Sarasota
The letter, signed by Ahearn-Koch, expresses concerns that the discharge of nitrogen and phosphorous would affect waters known for harmful algal blooms. Citing the Gulf’s sensitivity to red tide, the letter goes on to say that commissioners further believe that adding those discharges to “our warm Gulf waters is too risky and dangerous, even on a trial basis.”
“Everyone agrees nutrients play a role in red tide,” said Dennis Peters, the project and permit coordinator for Kampachi Farms. “But fish waste reactions in the ocean environment differently than human or agricultural waste. Oceans are made to assimilate fish waste.”
As part of the farm’s monitoring requirements, Kampachi must test monthly for nitrogen and phosphorus levels, among other discharges near the net pen. The EPA has also said that the project, dubbed Velella Epsilon, won’t have a detrimental environmental impact.
The most recent red tide outbreak in 2018 left Florida’s coastlines devastated — affecting quality of life of residents, tourists and the economic vitality of Sarasota’s tourism and related businesses, the letter says.
“As elected officials, we must protect the health, welfare and safety of our constituents,” Ahearn-Koch wrote in the letter.
Although commissioners generally support the pursuit of aquaculture, it “objects to the experimental nature of the Kampachi Farms project.”
#apolloLink{color:#000;background-color:#F4BE11;text-shadow: none;padding: 8px 15px 10px;font-family: 'Roboto', sans-serif;font-weight: 600;border-radius:10px;}
Read more stories by Timothy Fanning
"fish" - Google News
January 31, 2020 at 05:54AM
https://ift.tt/37SIqpD
Sarasota city commissioners consider strongly condemning proposed fish farm project in Gulf - Sarasota Herald-Tribune
"fish" - Google News
https://ift.tt/35JkYuc
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
No comments:
Post a Comment