Hooley finds consensus against fish farms off Oregon coast

OREGON - With the Bush administration having, only two months earlier, come out in support of large-scale aquaculture - "fish farms" - off the nation's coasts, Congresswoman Darlene Hooley (D-5th Dist.) came to Newport last Thursday to listen to the views of political leaders, government agency officials, environmentalists and others on the subject.

"I hear today that you are either against it, or want strong standards for it and a state right to opt out of it," she said after the hour-and-a-half long discussion.

About 25 people attended the meeting at the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was opened by Dr. George Boehlert, director of the Oregon State University Hatfield Marine Science Center, who gave an overview of the issues involved. "The goal of any viable new program," he said, should be "an economically and ecologically sustainable aquaculture." He saw the issues thus raised as falling into four main areas.

Source: NewportNewsTimes