There’s been a closely watched experiment floating and bobbing in the eddies
off the Big Island of Hawaii. Since July, an unanchored pen stocked
with 2,000 hatchery-born fish known as kampachi (related to the more
familiar yellowtail) has been drifting in the open ocean, tended by
marine biologists from the aquaculture company Kampachi Farms. Led by industry pioneer Neil Sims, it’s been dubbed the Velella Project, and it is the first and most important attempt at commercializing offshore aquaculture in the U.S.
Most of today’s marine fish farming takes place close to shore, but
many in the industry believe that in order to expand, they need to look
further out to the open ocean. And they’re not alone. Aquaculturists in
countries like Norway, Ireland, Newfoundland, and Chile are also
beginning to explore offshore options, though the technology to
accomplish this remains in its infancy.
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