Offshore aquaculture under NOAA management would take place in federal waters, between 3 and 12 miles from shore.

NOAA has stated four basic goals of the program: establish a comprehensive regulatory program for the conduct of marine aquaculture operations; develop appropriate technologies to support commercial marine aquaculture and enhancement of wild stocks improve public understanding of marine aquaculture and influence the development and international adoption of sustainable practices and standards for marine aquaculture facilities.

The plan’s comment period comes during a time when inshore aquaculture, specifically salmon farming, has come under increased fire with the release of a study that shows that sea lice from a group of fish farms along the British Columbia coast infected and then killed up to 95 percent of the wild juvenile pink and chum salmon swimming past the pens.

Published in the online edition of the U.S. journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last month, the study intensified worries of commercial fishermen in Alaska about the potential effects of pen-reared stocks of commercially harvested species interacting with wild stocks of those species.

Among the species identified by NOAA as potentially suitable for offshore aquaculture are species that are commercially vital to Alaska, including halibut, sablefish and cod.

Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, has fought to include a provision that would allow individual coastal states the option of rejecting offshore aquaculture off their coasts. At a Senate hearing in June, Stevens said, “I believe the state should have the right to determine what happens in terms of the areas off of their shores. I’m really worried about the state not having the right to veto a federal plan if that type of operation would pose a threat to the survival of that state’s wild species.”

The drafters of NOAA’s plan admit that stakeholder support is one of the challenges facing offshore aquaculture. “The program needs the support of a broad range of stakeholders, particularly those in coastal communities, to create opportunities for marine aquaculture to develop sustainably while protecting the marine environment and privileges of other users of marine resources,” the plan states.

The full plan can be viewed online at www.aquaculture.noaa.gov. Electronic comments can be sent to NOAA. Aquaculture@noaa.gov; written comments can be mailed to NOAA Aquaculture Program, 1315 East-West Highway, Rm. 13117, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or faxed to 301-7l3 9108.

Cristy Fry has commercial fished in Homer since 1978. She also designs and builds gear for the industry. She currently longlines for halibut and gillnets salmon in upper Cook Inlet aboard the F/V Realist. She can be reached at cristy-fry@ excite.com.