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 filed appeals asking the Environmental Appeals Board to reverse the EPA’s decision. One appeal was filed collectively by the Center for Food Safety (CFS), Recirculating Farms Coalition (Recirculating Farms), Tampa Bay Waterkeeper (TBWK), Suncoast Waterkeeper (SCWK), Healthy Gulf, Sierra Club, and Food & Water Watch (FWW), and a separate appeal was filed by Friends of Animals.
According to Friends of Animals, the EPA violated the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the National Environmental Policy Act in granting the permit.
“Critically, EPA failed to adequately determine if the permit would result in undue degradation of the marine environment, failed to fully consider the impact on threatened and endangered species, and failed to take a hard look at the environmental impacts of the project,” Friends of Animals claimed in its appeal. “Due to the clearly erroneous actions by EPA in issuing this permit, Friends of Animals requests that the [Environmental Appeals Board of the EPA] grant this petition for review. In doing so, the EAB should vacate the permit in its entirety and remand it back to EPA.”
The other appeal also alleges violations of the CWA, ESA, and NEPA while also citing violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and the Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA).
The groups claim Ocean Era should have been required to secure authorization from NOAA Fisheries for any incidental take from their operations, as required under the MMPA. By not considering how lost tools and equipment from the facility could become marine debris, the permit violated the Ocean Dumping Act of the MPRSA, the groups said.
Both appeals point to outdated documentation as further undermining the permit.
"It's so disappointing to see the EPA approve a permit for a widely opposed offshore finfish aquaculture project in U.S. waters,” Recirculating Farms Executive Director and Counsel Marianne Cufone said in a statement. “The Gulf states are already dealing with spinning and dying smalltooth sawfish and rays, massive coral die off, giant mats of rotting sargassum, algal blooms, and a dead zone. We simply cannot handle more pollution in our ocean waters."
