Opposition mounts against proposed fish farm off Sarasota coast

Because the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will not hold a public hearing on the construction of a controversial fin fish farm 45 miles off the coast of Sarasota, opponents took it upon themselves to be heard.

The mayor of the coastal city of Sarasota, a beach wedding photographer, environmentalists, fishermen and dozens of others testified in a virtual ad hoc meeting on Wednesday hosted by the environmental group Friends of the Earth.

Opponents said the proposed offshore fish farm demonstration pen by a Hawaii-based company, the first such project in the Gulf of Mexico, would create pollution in the form of fish waste, spread diseases to wild fish populations and increase competition with fishing companies that depend on wild catches.