"If they don't want it to happen in our own country, under our
rigorous protections, that means we're passing it off to other
countries like we passed off salmon farming to Chile," Kent said.
"Alaska said we don't want it, and now we're buying whatever they
(Chilean salmon farmers) produce."
Kent added that the institute's proposal is designed to answer
the very questions critics have about aquaculture's impact on the
"We have (proposed) a very rigorous sampling program, both near
the cages and down-water, that go way beyond the EPA requirements,"
Kent said. "There was a lot of concern when we built the hatchery
in Carlsbad over pollution, and that we would destroy ecological
diversity. None of those things are the case. You can't really tell
people, 'Don't worry about that, it's not going to be a problem.'
That's what research is about."
But critics say that's what standards are about, to prevent
experimentation that itself may damage the environment.
The California Coastal Commission wrote a string of letters to
federal agencies last spring seeking the right to review Hubbs-Sea
World's proposal. Citing the institute's own environmental study,
Alison Dettmer, manager of the commission's Energy and Ocean
Resources Unit, wrote, "(T)he potential exists for disease transfer
… between cultured and wild fish. It is also reasonable to expect
that some fish will escape from the pens over the life of the
project. The question on this point is not if but when."
Big waves, big risk
Indeed, a key difference between coastal and offshore
aquaculture is the latter's exposure to the turbulent high seas.
Dr. Michael Skladany, a Minneapolis-based sociologist with 25 years
of aquaculture and fisheries research, said, "Overcoming the
exposed high-energy environment, that's all fantasy. That ocean is
rough out there, man, and it can destroy those cages, no
The oil companies' involvement makes proposals like Hubbs-Sea
World's draw even more skepticism. The institute is receiving
millions of dollars from Chevron to conduct its operation,
including the donation of its facilities to conduct the aquaculture
experiments. Kent and Michael Rubino, NOAA Fisheries' head of
aquaculture programs, both said the aquaculture research would not
be able to extend the life of the oil platform or absolve Chevron
from its decommissioning obligations. But critics still see an
"A platform that was supposed to be up there for a temporary
time, with the oil company obligated to remove it and clean up the
seabed once the wells outlive their life expectancy, now they say
its life has been extended and they can just leave it in place,"
said Grader, the fishermen's association head. "They're basically
thumbing their nose at their obligations to remove those rigs."
For now, the only things swimming around Platform Grace,
towering 150 feet above the Pacific Ocean with a priceless view of
the Santa Barbara coast, are controversy and wild fish.
Contact staff writer Denis Devine at (760) 740-5415 or