Rob Parsons over at MauiTimes.com has an in depth look at Hawaii Oceanic Technology’s (HOT) proposed 165′ x 165′ Oceanspheres.
On this Friday morning, the BLNR would hear a request to permit a third facility, Hawaii Oceanic Technology’s (HOT) ambitious, high-tech plan to raise 6,000 tons of ahi (skipjack and bigeye tuna) in 12 untethered, submerged Oceanspheres three miles off the Big Island’s Kohala Coast. The projected output is four times the amount of ahi consumed yearly in all of Hawaii. HOT expects 90 percent of its finished product to be flown to markets in Japan and the Mainland.
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But the lack of data on the immense 165′ x 165′ Oceanspheres—to be self-propelled through an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) system—drew concerns from Board members and testifiers alike.
Life of the Land’s Henry Curtis, one of Hawaii’s most eminent renewable energy advocates, told the board about his experience evaluating OTEC systems. “Frankly,” said Curtis, “I can’t make head or tails of this technology. How can you describe the impacts if it is theoretical and has not been discussed?”
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Big Island residents and testifiers claimed HOT had not made good-faith efforts to meet with the community and hear their concerns. Spencer replied that their final Environmental Impact Statement was over 900 pages long, “with more than 500 pages of comments and responses.”
“I would rather work with them than oppose them,” testified Rocky Jensen, “but they didn’t come to us.”
The results from the Board of Land and Natural Resources was a 4-1 vote to approve an gradual approach to release three cages initially, then report back with their results prior to launching nine more net pens.
One of the most persistent myths about aquaculture perpetuated by people like Parsons is that fish farming is less efficient than traditional fishing. “Pelleted diets have a nutritional profile designed for a given species. Cultured fish do not spend energy hunting for food. Feed pellets are bite-sized to minimize waste in feeding. Fish production increases exponentially when high order consumers (tuna) are farmed using lower level baitfish. The fact is that the judicious use of baitfish in farmed fish feeds is a far more sustainable way to produce seafood than the harvest of high-value marine fish from already declining fisheries. Bycatch and non-target fish that are thrown over the side dead or dying and the practice of high-grading, discarding smaller individuals of the target species so that the boat can return with only the largest, most valuable fish raise the cost of fishing to 1 million tons of fish discarded for every 3.7 million tons produced.” – Seafood for the Future
By the way, Parsons does not reaveal in his editorial that he is a paid consultant to Food and Water Watch, a DC lobby firm that has been attacking open ocean aquaculture in Hawaii during the last year.