• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Santa Barbara Channelkeeper

Keeping Watch for Clean Water

  • About
    • Our Mission & Vision
    • Our Team
    • Our Boat
    • Our History
    • Our Impact
    • About the Santa Barbara Channel
    • About Local Watersheds
    • Strategic Framework
    • Financial Information
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Education
      • Student Art Show
    • Community Engagement
      • Cruise Ship Advocacy
      • Report Pollution
      • Volunteer
      • Water Conservation
      • Oil Spill Resource Guide
      • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Action Alerts
    • Field Work
      • Beach Water Quality
      • Stream Team
        • Water Quality Indicators
        • Stream Team Data Portal
        • Leydecker Archives
      • MPA Watch
      • Cruise Ship Monitoring
      • Ocean Acidification
    • Advocacy
      • Aquaculture Advocacy
      • Polluted Runoff
      • Agriculture
      • Oil & Gas
        • Protecting the Coast from Sable Offshore’s Pipeline Restart
        • Refugio Oil Spill
        • Oil Spill Resource Guide
        • Platform Decommissioning
        • Legacy Oil Wells
        • Offshore Fracking
      • Ventura River
      • Plastic
        • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Marine Protected Areas
        • MPA Watch
      • Water Supply
        • Desalination
        • Conservation
    • Enforcement
      • Ventura River
      • Offshore Fracking
      • Agriculture
      • Sewage
      • Ojai Quarry
      • Halaco
  • Media
    • Press Releases
    • Blog
    • Newsletter Archive
    • eNews Archive
    • Photo Gallery
    • Video Gallery
  • Take Action
    • Donate
    • Events
    • Volunteer
      • Watershed Brigade
      • MPA Watch
    • Report Pollution
    • Action Alerts
    • Subscribe to eNews
    • Shop
      • Buy Channelkeeper Gear
      • Shop & Support Channelkeeper
  • Donate

Federal Government Exploring Aquaculture Expansion in the Santa Barbara Channel

In response to a Trump-era Executive Order, federal agencies have begun steps to identify locations as potential sites for commercial aquaculture operations. The Santa Barbara Channel—along with areas in the Gulf of Mexico and waters off Marina del Rey, California—was selected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as one of the first areas to assess for future aquaculture development.

Currently, the Channel has two active aquaculture projects along the coastline. The federal government’s plans could lead to additional proposed projects in the Channel, including offshore finfish aquaculture.

Certain types of aquaculture projects, such as those for shellfish and seaweed, generally may have benefits that outweigh the drawbacks. However, offshore aquaculture operations for finfish (such as tuna or tilapia) present significant risks to the environment. These include, but are not limited to:

  • water quality impairment from dead fish, fecal waste, and antibiotics;
  •  spread of disease that can impact populations of wild fish caught by commercial, recreational, and subsistence fishermen;
  • escape of farmed fish into the natural environment, risking the genetic integrity of wild populations; and
  • depletion of small fish populations that are used as feed for farmed fish and thus, less available for wild fish, birds, and marine life.

In addition, there isn’t a permit program in place to regulate aquaculture operations in federal waters or strong standards to protect the marine environment from the impacts of finfish aquaculture. 

Channelkeeper is actively monitoring efforts to permit aquaculture operations in the Channel. Earlier this summer, we joined a coalition of ocean-conservation groups in submitting comments to NOAA to urge the agency to comprehensively research the ecological, social and economic risks and benefits of new aquaculture projects in the Channel. In addition, we advocated for a robust regulatory framework to be put in place that includes standards and compliance measures to minimize environmental impacts on both water quality and marine life. Stay tuned for opportunities to engage in the public comment process.

Primary Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • Watershed Brigade Hosted Cleanups Inspire Awareness and Action 
  • A Victory for Our Oceans: Federal Court Rules Against Industrial Fish Farming Permits
  • Why Educating Young People About Water Quality and the Environment Is Crucial for a Bright Future 
  • Clean Water Starts with Us: How We Can Help Address Water Pollution
  • Planting the Seeds of Environmental Stewardship Through Art 

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Education
  • Marine Conservation
  • Monitoring
  • News
  • Outreach
  • Polluted Runoff
  • Press Release
  • Uncategorized
  • Ventura River

Contact Us

714 Bond Avenue
Santa Barbara, CA 93103
[email protected]
(805) 563-3377

Subscribe to eNews

© 2023 Santa Barbara Channelkeeper | Website by Mission Web Marketing
NAVIGATION
  • About
    • Our Mission & Vision
    • Our Team
    • Our Boat
    • Our History
    • Our Impact
    • About the Santa Barbara Channel
    • About Local Watersheds
    • Strategic Framework
    • Financial Information
    • Careers
    • Contact Us
  • Our Work
    • Education
      • Student Art Show
    • Community Engagement
      • Cruise Ship Advocacy
      • Report Pollution
      • Volunteer
      • Water Conservation
      • Oil Spill Resource Guide
      • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Action Alerts
    • Field Work
      • Beach Water Quality
      • Stream Team
        • Water Quality Indicators
        • Stream Team Data Portal
        • Leydecker Archives
      • MPA Watch
      • Cruise Ship Monitoring
      • Ocean Acidification
    • Advocacy
      • Aquaculture Advocacy
      • Polluted Runoff
      • Agriculture
      • Oil & Gas
        • Protecting the Coast from Sable Offshore’s Pipeline Restart
        • Refugio Oil Spill
        • Oil Spill Resource Guide
        • Platform Decommissioning
        • Legacy Oil Wells
        • Offshore Fracking
      • Ventura River
      • Plastic
        • Film Plastic Recyling
      • Marine Protected Areas
        • MPA Watch
      • Water Supply
        • Desalination
        • Conservation
    • Enforcement
      • Ventura River
      • Offshore Fracking
      • Agriculture
      • Sewage
      • Ojai Quarry
      • Halaco
  • Media
    • Press Releases
    • Blog
    • Newsletter Archive
    • eNews Archive
    • Photo Gallery
    • Video Gallery
  • Take Action
    • Donate
    • Events
    • Volunteer
      • Watershed Brigade
      • MPA Watch
    • Report Pollution
    • Action Alerts
    • Subscribe to eNews
    • Shop
      • Buy Channelkeeper Gear
      • Shop & Support Channelkeeper
  • Donate