1st ocean fish farm proposed for East Coast off New England

By PATRICK WHITTLE
Associated Press

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — A group of fish farmers wants to be the first to bring offshore aquaculture to the waters off New England by growing salmon and trout miles from land. The vast majority of aquaculture in the U.S. takes place in coastal waters or on land, in tanks and ponds. But federal documents say Blue Water Fisheries wants to place 40 submersible fish pens on two 250-acre sites off Newburyport, Massachusetts. The farm would be the first of its kind off the East Coast. Conservation groups say farming salmon in the marine environment is bad for wild salmon, as farmed fish can escape and compete with them for food.