This came from FoodAndWater Watch...a great organization that keeps track of what people are trying to do to...well...food and water. I was once on an atoll called Rangiroa, with my best friend from high school and her boyfriend who was asked to help them find a solution to a fish disease that was affecting their fish. That was the first time I saw a different form of fish ponds. They made these eleborate bamboopathways...where fish would enter...and couldn't get out. There were tons of fish in there...but they all swam freely...and since the water was shallow for quite a ways...you could just bend over and pluck one from the sea. My friend told the tahitians that it was more than likely a fallout due to the French nuclear testing of another atoll in the South Pacific. They had built these extensive fish traps for hundreds of years....and then...all of a sudden...they had diseases. Polynesians knew how to keep this balance. I doubt Hawaii Oceanic Technology, Inc. will do the same. We..the people...will pay the price for their profits.Donna------------------------Aloha kakou,Hawaii Oceanic Technology, Inc. recently published its final Environmental Impact Statement, which the Department of Land and Natural Resources plans to approve, despite the fact that the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands, part of the DLNR, found major problems with it, including: lack of shark, marine mammal and endangered species plans; inadequate project disclosure and engineering analysis; and environmental concerns.The Honolulu Advertiser ran an article on the front page today about the HOTI project. Now is our chance to respond and raise this issue in the public consciousness. It is our kuleana to protect our precious natural resources for future generations and to carefully consider the impacts before leasing our waters out to a company, which may bring short-term monetary gain to Hawaii but may very well also have an irreparable impact on our oceans that no amount of money will be able to fix.We may not have the money that the industry has, but we do have our voices. Send in a letter to the editor in response to the article on Hawaii Oceanic Technology, Inc. Below are some talking points that you may find helpful. Send your letter to: letters@honoluluadvertiser.comPlease bcc me at clizzi@fwwatch.org so that I can keep track of how many letters are sent in.Hawaii Oceanic Technology, Inc. has held a bare minimum of public meetings to discuss their enormous project proposal, to raise from 6-12,000 tons of ahi yearly in 12 submerged cages within a 247-acre ocean lease.All of the 12-24,000 tons of fish feed would be imported, containing bait fish (further depleting wild stocks), land-based proteins (e.g. GMO soybeans), and possibly antibiotics, preservatives, growth hormones, and other chemicals.Ninety percent of the ahi produced would be airflown to export markets (primarily Japan), making the venture wholly unsustainable.Ocean fish farms are analagous to concentrated animal feeding operation on land - which have been detrimental both to consumer health and the environment.DLNR approved the EIS despite their own Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands noting unresolved issues: lack of shark, marine mammal and endangered species plans; inadequate project disclosure and engineering analysis; and environmental concerns.The DLNR, the state agency entrusted with preserving our natural resources, seems to be in a rush to approve this giveaway of public waters for private profit. Why?The Board of Land and Natural Resources will conduct a hearing on the Conservation District Use Permit, and let's hope it is well publicized, unlike previous meetings, and held in West Hawaii.We should proceed with great caution until the aquaculture industry can adequately address cultural and environmental concerns, sustainability, and profitability.Hawaii Oceanic Technology plans on using untested technologies. Hawaii is a testing ground for a new industry.More information is available at http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/hawaiiSend your letter to letters@honoluluadvertiser.com and again, please bcc me at clizzi@fwwatch.org so I can keep track of how many letters have been sent in and where we need to expand our outreach.Mahalo nui loa,Christina LizziOrganizer, Fish Program, Food & Water Watch
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