Proposed offshore shellfish farm works with scientists to protect sea environment, monitor potential impacts
By Phil Cruver
LONG BEACH, CA – The Southern California Bight – the eastward curvature of ocean region between Santa Barbara and the Mexican border – has a coastal population of about 17 million people.
It is rich with untapped marine resources and increasingly under pressure from the encroachment of urbanization and commercial exploitation.
The challenge here today is to both protect the ecosystem and marine life of this massive 100,000-square-mile bight, while also accommodating societal and economic opportunities that would benefit its citizens.
California is the world’s fifth largest supplier of food commodities and has one of the strongest ocean economies in the nation.
The state now also has the potential to augment its land-based agriculture success with offshore shellfish aquaculture for increased economic and food security.
Read the rest and much, much more in Issue 3, 2013 of Fish Farming News. Download access instructions so that you can read the online flipbook AND download a pdf copy for future reference.
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