Several conservation and animal welfare groups have appealed a federal permit issued to mariculture firm Ocean Era to establish an offshore fish farm in U.S. waters, claiming the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) violated multiple laws in allowing the operation to move forward.
Hawaii-based Ocean Era has been working to secure federal approval of a finfish-farming facility roughly 40 miles off the coast of Sarasota, Florida, U.S.A., for years.
The company claims the ocean farm would serve as a pilot operation, helping them understand the viability of commercial fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico, currently referred to as the Gulf of America by the U.S. government.
In May 2025, Ocean Era secured the key permit needed from the EPA, authorizing the company to raise up to 20,000 red drum in a single net pen over the course of a year. The permit estimates a total fish harvest weight of 46,750 pounds based on a survival rate of 85 percent.
The decision was immediately criticized by several conservation and animal welfare groups.
"The EPA's decision to approve this permit for the Velella Epsilon project is deeply disappointing and dangerous,” Healthy Gulf Executive Director Martha Collins said in a statement. “Industrial aquaculture operations like this introduce pollution, threaten native fish populations with disease and genetic disruption, and put Gulf Coast communities that rely on clean water and healthy fisheries at risk. This project is a gateway for the expansion of factory fish farms in our open waters. The Gulf is already burdened by pollution and climate impacts; adding floating industrial feedlots to the mix is irresponsible and shortsighted. We urge federal agencies to prioritize the health of our marine ecosystems and coastal communities over experimental ventures that benefit private industry at public expense.”
Now, those groups have ...
