October 18, 2021
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New law allows Florida bass to be farm-raised, sold in markets - Orlando Sentinel

PORT ST. LUCIE (AP) — Coming soon to your neighborhood seafood market: farm-raised Florida largemouth bass. Thanks to a law passed this spring, bass will expand its popularity from a favorite fishing target to the seafood sales list in the Sunshine State.

At face value, the issue seems simple. Allow a popular well-known species of fish to be farmed and sold in Florida — two things that have not been allowed for decades.

However, when Florida politics collide with fish management policy, nothing is easy. That was apparent during a recent presentation at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meeting in St. Augustine.

The Legislature this year passed HB 669, introduced by Rep. Dana Trabulsy, R-Fort Pierce, to allow for the aquaculture industry to include the Florida strain of largemouth bass as a species it can raise and sell.

Lake Apopka is the site of a fish event in which 500 fish, including a largemouth bass named Jim Thomas seen here, are tagged for chase prizes. The fish named Jim was caught and tagged by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Agency biologist Chelsea McMullen holds the fish just before its release.
Lake Apopka is the site of a fish event in which 500 fish, including a largemouth bass named Jim Thomas seen here, are tagged for chase prizes. The fish named Jim was caught and tagged by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Agency biologist Chelsea McMullen holds the fish just before its release. (Florida FWC)

“It’s a great opportunity for people to enjoy bass, just like they enjoy catfish or tilapia or salmon and the other fish that are farmed,” Trabulsy told Florida Politics in April.

There are over 4,300 aquaculture facilities in the U.S., including more than 1,000 in Florida, where there are over 1,500 types of fish, mollusks, crustaceans, reptiles, amphibians and plants grown. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services oversees this industry.

The legislation was based on economics. Farm-raised largemouth bass is valued at $5.75 per pound, a 90% increase from 2013, and 195 farms reported producing largemouth bass for food in 2018 for a total value of $27 million, FWC data show.

Under the new law, the FWC must develop a policy to allow for farm-raised bass sales, but some commissioners oppose the measure, saying it should remain a sport fish.

“I don’t think we should do this,” said Commissioner Gary Lester of Oxford. “Yes, we do have an aquaculture industry. We have a lot of fish and a lot of jobs in it. But the largemouth bass has a special iconic place in our state and in our economy.”

“If that happens, we could lose genetic purity. This agency has the responsibility to protect that. I’m very concerned when we have to use terms like ‘chain of custody.’ That ought to tell us something. I don’t want to be the board that lets that happen,” he said. “Once that bell has been rung ...”

The state has allowed Norwegian salmon to be raised in Homestead and Australian barramundi, a freshwater fish similar to snook, to be raised in open ponds in Osceola County. The state’s lakes, ponds, canals and marshes, especially in tropical South Florida, are teeming with non-native fish that are affecting native fish.

A fishing trip to any freshwater body south of Orlando will produce armored catfish from South America, Mayan cichlids from Central America, oscars from Africa and snakeheads from Southeast Asia. We’ve already seen 50-pound pacus and 6-foot-long arapaimas float up in the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers, respectively.

A concern could be that commercial fishers will pressure legislators to harvest largemouth bass from the wild. There is already over 2 million pounds of fish caught and sold from Florida freshwater bodies such as catfish, tilapia and bream.

That includes the toxic algae-covered waters of Lake Okeechobee, Florida’s largest lake. Consuming these fish may not even be safe due to exposure to algae, but testing has not been done.



source: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/os-bz-florida-farm-raised-largemouth-bass-20211018-qqd654rnw5c4dk3djulluvr4fm-story.html

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