Gulf fish farm gets federal approval to dump thousands of pounds of waste

Officials in Sarasota and Holmes Beach have been voicing opposition to Ocean Era's proposed Almaco jack fish farm for months.

The Environmental Protection Agency has authorized a request to discharge thousands of pounds of fish farm waste into the Gulf of Mexico. It's a key step to open a controversial pilot project 45 miles off Sarasota's coast.

Ocean Era Inc., formerly known as Kampachi Farms, plans for the floating fish farm to raise 20,000 Almaco jack.

The farm, named Velella Epsilon Aquatic Animal Production Facility, is the first ever authorized in federal waters, but city officials in Sarasota and Holmes Beach have been voicing opposition to this project for months.

Jaclyn Lopez with the Center for Biological Diversity said there's still a lot of data missing because this is a trial run.