After emails are lost, U.S. Army Corps extends public comment on fish farm off Sarasota
Hard to believe that our government goofed, but we need to resend our opposition to the environmentally threatening fish farms proposed for the Gulf. This would be just the beginning of new pollution and nature altering processes in our already government-abused Gulf of Mexico.
See our earlier post for the many reasons for not doing this and the harm caused by attempts gone awry.
At any rate, please go on record and write to OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil saying you oppose the plan; the new deadline is November 19.
See the original article here at the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
Comments by OSFR historian Jim Tatum.
jim.tatum@oursantaferiver.org
– A river is like a life: once taken,
it cannot be brought back © Jim Tatum
October 26, 2020
SARASOTA – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it will extend its public notice and comment period on a construction permit for the first finfish farm ever authorized in federal waters.
The comment deadline, originally set for Nov. 4, was extended because the agency’s email was not working, and comments previously submitted were not received. The new deadline is Nov. 19.
The Corps, which previously had not committed to accept public comment on the project, changed course after local community members expressed strong concerns about Hawaii-based Ocean Era’s offshore demonstration farm.
The project would raise 20,000 almaco jack, a species common to the Gulf of Mexico, in an anchored chain-link mesh pen 45 miles southwest of Longboat Pass off Sarasota County.
Opponents say offshore fish farms will create pollution from fish waste, spread diseases to wild fish populations and increase competition with fishing companies that depend on wild catches. Opponents also have argued that anchoring fish pens in the hurricane-active Gulf will open the door to a host of problems….
People who previously sent comments to the OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil email address are asked by the Corps to resend those comments as soon as possible. They will receive an email response confirming receipt of their comments.
