producer followed by Chile. The next most important species are Sea Bream and
Sea Bass, with China being the largest producer followed by Mediterranean Sea
countries, with Greece as the largest producer. For shellfish (largely oysters and
mussels), the dominant producers are the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Spain,
followed by much smaller production from France, Chile, and the United States
(Holmer 2013).
The majority of tropical offshore aquaculture activity is concentrated in two
regions, Asia and tropical locales of the Caribbean and Hawaii-USA. Off-the-coast
and offshore aquaculture in Asia are dominated by China, with 900 cages growing
cobia, amberjack, sea bream, and other economically important species. Deep water
offshore cages were initiated in China in the late 1990s and expansion has continued as a government priority in the coastal provinces with suitable climate
(Angel and Edelist 2013).
Hawaii-U.S.A. and the tropical locales of Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Panama,
Belize, Mexico, and Costa Rica all have had large-scale research, pilot projects and
several commercial scale projects (Panama currently boosts the largest open ocean
farm in the world), with cobia as the most popular species in the Gulf of Mexico
and the Caribbean (Alston et al. 2005; Angel and Edelist 2013; Open Blue Sea
Farms 2014). In October 2014, Hubbs Sea World Research Institute (HSWRI)
began the permit process to locate a 5000 tonne fish farm for Pacific yellowtail 4.5
miles off Southern California, USA; which if successful will be the first commercial
fish farm in federal waters (Leschin-Hoar 2014).
9.2.2 Aquaculture Co-located with Platforms
The concept of co-locating commercial farms with established and emerging open
ocean private sector activities, that is ocean wind farms and oil and gas drilling, has
come to the fore front in recent years (Bridger 2004; Buck et al. 2004). A perceived
major advantage of co-location is that the much needed energy generating activities
have an existing regulatory framework that may be utilized for siting aquaculture
and that permitting/leasing mechanisms are lacking or poorly developed for open
ocean aquaculture in most countries (Holmer 2013).
More practical considerations in the case of utilizing wind farms include: the
massive platforms to attach aquaculture equipment and the unused space between
the turbines for aquaculture that could have restricted public access and enhanced
security. In the case of oil and gas drilling structures, active or decommissioned,
there is a large structure to attach farm equipment and more importantly with
decommissioned rigs, there is unused deck space on the platform for fish tanks and
support activities. Also important, with oil and gas platforms, the energy company
would not have to go to the expense and could avoid the environmental disruption
of dismantling the platform by fostering an ongoing beneficial use.
While strong analytical arguments have been made for incorporating aquaculture
into the planning of wind farms and to some extent oil and gas platforms, actual
9 Regulation and Permitting of Standalone …
191
Sea Bass, with China being the largest producer followed by Mediterranean Sea
countries, with Greece as the largest producer. For shellfish (largely oysters and
mussels), the dominant producers are the Republic of Korea, Japan, and Spain,
followed by much smaller production from France, Chile, and the United States
(Holmer 2013).
The majority of tropical offshore aquaculture activity is concentrated in two
regions, Asia and tropical locales of the Caribbean and Hawaii-USA. Off-the-coast
and offshore aquaculture in Asia are dominated by China, with 900 cages growing
cobia, amberjack, sea bream, and other economically important species. Deep water
offshore cages were initiated in China in the late 1990s and expansion has continued as a government priority in the coastal provinces with suitable climate
(Angel and Edelist 2013).
Hawaii-U.S.A. and the tropical locales of Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Panama,
Belize, Mexico, and Costa Rica all have had large-scale research, pilot projects and
several commercial scale projects (Panama currently boosts the largest open ocean
farm in the world), with cobia as the most popular species in the Gulf of Mexico
and the Caribbean (Alston et al. 2005; Angel and Edelist 2013; Open Blue Sea
Farms 2014). In October 2014, Hubbs Sea World Research Institute (HSWRI)
began the permit process to locate a 5000 tonne fish farm for Pacific yellowtail 4.5
miles off Southern California, USA; which if successful will be the first commercial
fish farm in federal waters (Leschin-Hoar 2014).
9.2.2 Aquaculture Co-located with Platforms
The concept of co-locating commercial farms with established and emerging open
ocean private sector activities, that is ocean wind farms and oil and gas drilling, has
come to the fore front in recent years (Bridger 2004; Buck et al. 2004). A perceived
major advantage of co-location is that the much needed energy generating activities
have an existing regulatory framework that may be utilized for siting aquaculture
and that permitting/leasing mechanisms are lacking or poorly developed for open
ocean aquaculture in most countries (Holmer 2013).
More practical considerations in the case of utilizing wind farms include: the
massive platforms to attach aquaculture equipment and the unused space between
the turbines for aquaculture that could have restricted public access and enhanced
security. In the case of oil and gas drilling structures, active or decommissioned,
there is a large structure to attach farm equipment and more importantly with
decommissioned rigs, there is unused deck space on the platform for fish tanks and
support activities. Also important, with oil and gas platforms, the energy company
would not have to go to the expense and could avoid the environmental disruption
of dismantling the platform by fostering an ongoing beneficial use.
While strong analytical arguments have been made for incorporating aquaculture
into the planning of wind farms and to some extent oil and gas platforms, actual
9 Regulation and Permitting of Standalone …
191