Is it possible to operate fish farms without any environmental impact?
No, but impacts can be very limited and there are typically positive effects of well-sited mariculture, such as food- web enhancement of diversity and abundance found around the perimeter of some fish farms. Of course almost everything human beings do has some environmental effect. Agriculture, fisheries and now fish farming inevitably interact with the natural environment, because they are such an integral part of it. In some cases the interactions may be significant; in others they may be minor or even positive. The challenge for our human society is to figure out how we can maintain the standard of living to which we have become accustomed in developed countries, and advance that of those in undeveloped countries, while ensuring that changes in the natural environment are minimized. We believe that this is the course on which the fish farming industry is set and that what it has achieved up to now has been accomplished with an impact that is both minimal and acceptable.
Related Questions
- Why is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service doing an Environmental Impact Statement for NiSource’s Habitat Conservation Plan and Incidental Take Permit Application?
- What is the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s role in the NEPA Environmental Impact Statement process?
- Is it possible to operate fish farms without any environmental impact?
