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Is a fish farm viable in the Gulf of Mexico? One company wants to find out

Kampachi Farms, a Hawaiian seafood farming company, is proposing a fish pen in the Gulf. However, some people are concerned it would contribute to red tide.

SARASOTA, Fla. — At a packed meeting, the public had the opportunity to comment on a proposed fish farming pen that would be 45 miles off Sarasota’s shore.

The company proposing the fish pen, Kampachi Farms, a Hawaiian seafood farming company, says it is a pilot program, with staff tracking fish production and environmental quality. 

Ultimately, they want to find out if fish farms and this pen, one that would raise about 20,000 almaco jack for human consumption, could be profitable in the Gulf of Mexico.

But people who oppose the pen are worried about environmental impacts, saying they’re especially concerned it could contribute to red tide.

Bill Matturro was one of the dozens of people concerned that a fish farm in the Gulf of Mexico near Sarasota would be a disaster for the environment.

Credit: 10News

"It would contribute to red tide because of the additional nitrogen caused by the fish feces and the kind of food and other additions they put in to keep the fish going," he said.

Kampachi Farms doesn’t believe that will happen. It's asking the Environmental Protection Agency for permission to start this pilot project.

"A single cage is not economically feasible on a commercial scale. And it never was meant to be. It was meant to be that demonstration pilot farm, to show to the community that we do have negligible if detectable environmental effects on the water quality," said Dennis Peters, the project manager for Kampachi Farms.

He says in addition to tracking that, they’d observe fish production.

"With those two pieces of information the decision will be made then, is it a viable project to proceed commercially?" Peters said.

The EPA tells us no decision will be made in the short term whether to allow the fish pen to move forward. It does not know exactly when a final decision will be made.

RELATED: Sarasota environmentalists: Red tide could get worse with proposed fish farming pen

RELATED: New state website focuses on Florida’s water quality

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