Fish Farm planned off San Diego coast

SAN DIEGO – A partnership involving a fishery, nonprofit and private equity firm hopes to establish the first open-water finfish farm in federal waters just off the coast of San Diego. If realized, a 300,000 square-foot and 5,000-metric-ton fish farm would be located approximately 5 miles off the coast of Mission Beach where striped bass, white sea bass and yellowtail jack will be grown in submersible cages. Rose Canyon Fisheries, who would head the fish farm, filed applications with the federal government in October. Rose Canyon has partnered with Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute, a nonprofit charity focused on marine ecosystem conservation. According to the institute, the proposed fish farm “seeks to pioneer domestic, sustainable marine aquaculture.” Bringing a fish farm off the coast of Mission Beach would strike a balance between incorporating sustainable practices, rebuilding marine life and fish populations and increasing the domestic supply of seafood, explained Don Kent, president and CEO of Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute, and director and executive of Rose Canyon. “We’re going to approach this as it’s a recognized need and it’s good for our country. We import about 91 percent of our seafood. We’re doing very little aquaculture. We can become self sufficient. There is a lot...