Co-sponsored by GRACE Communications Foundation and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Funders

Join the Don’t Cage Our Ocean Coalition for a webinar discussion of our collective work to prevent industrial offshore aquaculture in the U.S. – an emerging industry that poses significant environmental and socio-economic threats.

This webinar is a follow-up to the aquaculture dinner hosted at the 2019 SAFSF Forum last June. RSVP to Maggie Tauranac at [email protected].

In recent years, the federal government has renewed a decades-long battle to permit marine finfish aquaculture facilities in the ocean despite concrete evidence of adverse effects in other countries (a number of which are beginning to move away from the industry). Harms include but are not limited to, the destruction of wild fish stocks and related industries, widespread use of pharmaceuticals and other toxins, transmission of parasites and disease, entanglement of marine mammals and seabirds, privatization of public waters, and centralization of corporate control over food production.

Marine finfish aquaculture proponents are pushing for expansion at all levels and branches of the government. Our coalition is fighting a number of legislative attempts to legitimize and expand the industry in federal waters as well as key coastal states like California, Washington, and North Carolina. In addition to bad laws, we are seeing a heightened push in the current administration to bypass Congress and attempt to permit offshore aquaculture without explicit authority. The time is now – before this disastrous industry can take hold – to prevent these harms at home.

Speakers:

Hallie Templeton, senior oceans campaigner, Friends of the Earth
Marianne Cufone, executive director, Recirculating Farms Coalition
Melanie Brown, SalmonState organizer & Bristol Bay commercial fisherman *by recorded video
Noah Oppenheim, executive director, Institute for Fisheries Resources
Rosanna Marie Neil, policy counsel, Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance
Urvashi Rangan, chief science advisor, GRACE Communications Foundation (moderator)