Offshore Aquaculture in the Southern California Bight
Offshore Aquaculture in the Southern California Bight, pt. 1
The Sea Grant Workshop was the first in a two-part series titled: Offshore Aquaculture in the Southern California Bight. It was convened in April 2015 to develop the frames of reference and rationale for creation of an offshore finfish aquaculture industry in southern California.
The workshop was attended by 44 people that represented a cross-section of scientists, regulators, and industry practitioners with proven expertise in the field of aquaculture and environmental science. All state and federal agencies with regulatory responsibilities for permitting aquaculture were invited to participate and each agency was generally well represented. Workshop participants were asked to share and prioritize concerns regarding the complex, high-stakes environmental and resource issues often associated with coastal development activities. While permitting remains an uncertain, uncoordinated, unstable, and inconsistent process for offshore farms in California, all workshop participants were requested to work together to formulate specific recommendations to improve the process for reviewing permits and obtaining approvals for aquaculture development projects.
Offshore Aquaculture in the Southern California Bight, pt. 2
The second Sea Grant Workshop in a two-part series, titled Offshore Aquaculture in the Southern California Bight, was convened to bring together federal and state coastal managers with statutory authorities for review and permitting of marine aquaculture in federal waters off the coast of Southern California with scientists and other stakeholders. This facilitated presentations and discussion to address how to build regulatory confidence in understanding and applying best available science and incorporating appropriate tools that can inform decision-making. Models were presented as a potential tool to aid in making sound regulatory decisions. Modeling results from the Rose Canyon Fisheries finfish aquaculture project were presented as a case study.