Santa Barbara community members deliver petition against fish farming to NOAA

SANTA BARBARA, Calif.– A dozen community members of "Don't Cage Our Oceans" dropped off a petition featuring 2,500 signatures to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration building on State Street Wednesday asking the organization to join in the protest of current federal Executive Order 13921.

The petition is against the standing order that the opposing group calls "a directive which
streamlines the process for the development of fish farms in federal waters".

Several speakers including Chair of the Santa Barbara-Ventura Sierra Club Katie Davis, Chef and Owner of Pinyon Ojai Jeremy Alben, and local fisherman Eric Hodge spoke on the impact farmed vs. wild caught fish has on the quality of the seafood.

“I fish out in the Channel almost every single day. If these fish farms are built, it would directly
affect my job of putting food on Californians’ plates,” said Eric Hodge, a local commercial
fisherman. “Not only would they make it harder for me to fish on a day to day basis, but these
corporations could undercut me at the market as well, making it harder for me to make a living.”

Organizer with Don’t Cage Our Oceans Jake Schwartz reminded people that the ocean to home impact of fish farms is closer than the community might think.

“From the devastation to our oceans that finfish farming can cause, to the fishermen that it could
put out of business, this is a harmful practice and we cannot allow it to come to our backyard."

"Don't Cage Our Oceans" call for a federal ban on fish farming.