Oysters and mussels might soon be farmed off the coast of Long Beach.
A provisional permit from the United States Army Corps was issued to KZO Sea Farms for an open ocean shellfish farm on Tuesday, July 17, said KZO President and CEO Phil Cruver. The project, which will use federal waters about eight or nine miles off the coast, still needs to undergo a Federal Consistency Review before it can start in January 2013.
Supporting the National Shellfish Initiative, which is meant to increase the populations of bivalve shellfish (such as oysters, clams and mussels) in the United States’ coastal waters through mariculture, Cruver said the growth of shellfish aquaculture will create jobs, clean the water and help reduce the nation’s $10 billion seafood deficit — currently, most seafood is imported from other countries.
“This farm is going to be 30 feet under water and no conflict with fishermen, port traffic or recreation, and there’s no evidence of marine mammal entanglement in shellfish aquaculture,” Cruver said, adding that the project will initially be 100 acres with plans to expand the farm area to 1,000 acres (costing a total of $3 million if expanded to 1,000 acres).
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