• Embed Doc
  • Copy Link
  • Readcast
  • Collections
  • CommentGo Back
Download
 
Kona Blue’s Ocean Aquaculture:Marketing the Myth of Sustainability
Kona Blue Water Farms has successfully marketed notonly the kahala it raises by the thousands in cages off thecoast of Hawaii, but also the idea that its version of openocean aquaculture is environmentally sustainable. Thisis highly questionable. The company might not have asustainable business model, either.Kona’s Kampachi are prone to escapement and the cagesmay be changing the ecology of the area surrounding thefish pens. Furthermore, the feed options that Kona Blueis using should not be considered the most sustainable:They rely partially on depleted forage fish populationsand even chicken byproducts.For example, in December 2007, 1,500 kahala escaped outof their Kona pens after a cage door was left open, resultingin a loss of about $10,000 to Kona Blue.
4
When farmedfish escape, it is sometimes a concern that they will affectthe local ecology of the region by eating other fish, com-peting for food with native species or even crossbreeding,mixing their genes with local populations. But the compa-ny’s owner, Neil Sims, claimed that the fish were easy prey,and that they did not crossbreed with wild fish.
5
 Even if the escaped fish did not affect the local popula-tion in this incident, the cages have been observed tochange the local ecology surrounding the farms. InNovember 2005, the company killed a 16-foot tiger shark that was stalking one of its divers. Sims said dead fish inthe bottom of a cage attracted the shark.
6
And, thoughthey have not become entangled, spinner dolphins andhumpback whales occasionally swim through and aroundthe farm. One humpback whale was seen swimming between the cages.
7
This is a concern because it indi-cates that predator species may be altering their naturalpatterns to adapt to the presence of the fish farms andthe waste and leftover fish feed that filters through thesetypes of open ocean systems.The feed provided to Kona Blue’s kahala is another causefor concern. Many fish farms struggle with the problem
K 
ona Blue Water Farms, LLC is an open ocean aquaculture operation that wasfounded in 2001 off the coast of Kona on Hawaii’s big island. Since its incep-tion, Kona Blue has promoted itself as an environmental leader. Its Web site refersto farmed fish that are “sustainable from hatch to harvest” and an “environmentally friendly alternative” produced “without depleting wild fish stocks or harming theocean environment.”
1
In 2005, after several years of research and development, thecompany began producing a sushi-grade Hawaiian yellowtail which the locals callkahala, and is sold nationally as “Kona Kampachi.” It now bills itself as the “first in-tegrated hatchery and fish farm in the country.”
2
The farm produces around 25,000pounds of kahala per week (as of March 2009) at about $17 per filleted pound whenpurchased directly. The majority of the product is destined for consumption on the American mainland.
3
 
FISH
of 00

Leave a Comment

You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...
You must be to leave a comment.
Submit
Characters: ...