Fish Farm Deadline for comments extended

The Army Corps of Engineers has extended the deadline for people who wish to comment on the proposed fish farm off of Sarasota's shores. Apparently their email was not working, and comments previously submitted were not received. 

Here is the address to the now working email: 

 OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil 

From the Corps:

The Corps is extending the comment period an additional 15-days to November 19, 2020 to ensure we receive all comments regarding this proposed project. If you previously sent comments to the OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil email address, please resend those comments as soon as possible. You will receive an email response confirming receipt of your comments. We apologize for this inconvenience.

Deadline Extension for comments:

Project Name: 15-Day Public Notice Comment Period Extension for Ocean Era, LLC Velella Epsilon Aquaculture Pilot Project

County: Sarasota County

Comment Due Date: November 19, 2020

File Name: SAJ-2017-03488 (SP-KRD)

Due to a technical issue, the Corps became aware that the comment email mailbox, OceanEra_VEAquaculture@usace.army.mil , was not receiving external emails. 

Calling all fish harvesters, restaurants, tourism/entertainment industries, retailers and more!

If you are a business owner/operator in the Gulf of Mexico, we hope you will consider signing onto this letter from coastal businesses to public officials demanding that they prioritize Gulf businesses, support your recovery from coronavirus devastation, and call on the government to halt the development of new industrial aquaculture facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. You can sign on and read the full letter here. Deadline is Thursday, November 2. 

The looming threat of industrial ocean fish farming in the Gulf of Mexico is growing. EPA just issued the first permit needed to construct Velella Epsilon, a finfish aquaculture facility just 45 miles off the coast of Sarasota, FL. The US Army Corps of Engineers is about to close a commenting period on the second and final permit necessary to build the first of what will likely be many of these destructive operations throughout the Gulf of Mexico.

Industrial aquaculture facilities push external costs of operation onto the ocean ecosystem and coastal economies, from direct discharge of toxins to privatization of the ocean. 

For the Gulf of Mexico, this means extra nutrients to feed the red tide and increased competition for limited marine space (and much more). The industry has its sights set on the Gulf of Mexico as the first place it wants to operate in the U.S. – starting with the Velella Epsilon project off the coast of Sarasota, to be followed by a larger “Aquaculture Opportunity Area” to host up to 5 facilities in the region. This could devastate Gulf businesses that have already been struggling to recover from recent natural disasters and devastation from the impacts of COVID-19.

Join us in telling public officials to support local and coastal businesses in the Gulf, and stop pushing a harmful new industry in the region! Sign on and read the full letter here. Deadline is Monday, November 2.

Please feel free to spread the word and contact htempleton@foe.org with any questions.

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Hallie Templeton

Senior Oceans Campaigner

(434)326-4647

htempleton@foe.org

Friends of the Earth