First U.S. Tuna Farm Approved

The Associated Press is reporting that the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources voted 4 - 1 to give Hawaii Oceanic Technology permission to build the first tuna farm off the coast of the Big Island. Click here to view the article by Audrey McAvoy. According to the article,

Hawaii Oceanic Technology aims to create an environmentally friendly open ocean farm for bigeye tuna, a favorite source for sushi and sashimi that's overfished in the wild. The project would also be the world's first commercial bigeye farm.

Hawaii Oceanic plans to artificially hatch the tuna at the University of Hawaii lab at Hilo. The company plans to avoid disease and waste problems because of the large size of their pens.

Not everyone is happy with the company’s plans.

“The project won't be sustainable if it imports its feed and exports about 90 percent of its product, said Rob Parsons, a board member of the environmentalist group Maui Tomorrow. The venture looks like it will suffer from the same pollution and disease problems as cattle farms, he said.

"This is not a farm," Parsons said. "It's an industrial feed lot."”

For more information on this story, click here to view an article posted on Red Orbit.

For more information on the company, click here.

Posted: 10/26/09