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A series of workshops by the National Marine Fisheries Service to develop a code of conduct for aquaculture operators will begin in Honolulu Nov. 14. Fisheries meet on
Nov. 14 open to public
Star-BulletinThe meeting will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Hawaii Imin International Conference Center, East-West Center. Others are scheduled Nov. 16 in Miami and Nov. 20 in Silver Spring, Md.
The service wants a voluntary code to guide companies considering aquaculture production in America's offshore waters.
Penny Dalton, fisheries director for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said the oceans offer great opportunities for aquaculture operations to provide more fish.
"Anticipating that U.S. innovation and technology can meet this challenge, we will use these workshops to provide a framework for environmentally responsible offshore aquaculture development."
The code will focus on the Exclusive Economic Zone, extending three nautical miles from land to the U.S. control limit at 200 nautical miles at sea. The U.S. EEZ covers about 3.4 million square miles.
"We believe that ocean aquaculture may play an integral role in the future of the U.S. fisheries," Dalton said, "and a code of conduct is an important step toward ensuring that aquaculture development in the EEZ is done in an environmentally sound manner."
Interested people are urged to participate in the workshops. Call Ed Rhodes for information, 301-713-2334, NOAA Fisheries' Office of Sustainable Fisheries.