BLUE REVOLUTION HAWAII: PROPOSAL FOR A PACIFIC INTERNATIONAL OCEAN STATION

World fisheries agencies have long warned of the depletion of wild fish stocks in our oceans due to overfishing to meet rapidly growing human demands for seafood. The potential of aquaculture for providing safe, sustainable seafood supplies to the world has long been recognized. Seafood aquaculture already supplies total yields about equal to caught fish, but conflicts with near-shore and on-shore usages, navigation lanes, commercial fisheries, and feed and waste discharges in local waters are imposing limits to its expansion. The obvious solution is to develop ocean aquaculture in deep, voluminous ocean waters farther from shore. But proof of economically sustainable and environmentally protective best practices is needed for commercially viable aquaculture.

Blue Revolution Hawaii is advocating the deployment of the Pacific International Ocean Station (PIOS) in Hawaiian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters 35-75 miles offshore on the leeside southwest from the Hawaiian Islands. PIOS would be a pilot test station for eventual deployment of commercial ocean resources production platforms in ocean waters.

The 35-75-mile band of EEZ ocean waters provides a 20,000 square-mile region along the southwest side of the Hawaiian Islands that may ultimately be designated for commercial-scale ocean resources production operations. The region lies in the unused zone between existing Hawaii-based day-boat and longline fishing operations, and is situated far from near-shore usages, navigation lanes, and marine mammal and reef preserve areas.

The PIOS Station would be designed to support a test fleet of submerged fish-growing cages for growing pelagic species of fish from fingerlings to harvesting. Supporting growing systems such as for seaweed and feeder fish may also be attached for testing of on-platform Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture (IMTA) operations.  A semi-buoyant core platform (similar to oil/gas drilling platforms) would be elevated above storm-surge wave heights and would provide housing and operations space for up to 200 scientific researchers, ocean monitoring personnel, and fishcage operations workers. An outer line of tethered ocean wind turbines can provide electricity for on-platform operations.  The core platform can also have an on-board system for deep water upwelling to bring bacteria-free and nutrient-rich deep water to the surface to support IMTA growing operations.

The PIOS Station research would include ongoing monitoring and data-gathering of climate, marine life and ocean environment, and would test, design and validate best practices for sustainable and environmentally protective operations for deep ocean aquaculture and other ocean resources production.