Researchers from the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute propose building a fish farm as large as 30 football fields just five miles off the coast of Mission Beach. The fish farm, known as an aquaculture, would help the fishing industry keep up with U.S. demand for seafood, according to Mark Drawbridge, director of the aquaculture project. With the U.S. importing as much as 80 percent of its seafood, a successful aquaculture could spawn an entire domestic fishing industry, Drawbridge said. “We are looking to launch the … project to demonstrate the commercial and environmental adequacy of the offshore [fish] farming,” Drawbridge said. “We’ve been doing research for about 30 years. The situation right now is that capture fisheries can’t keep up with the demand [for seafood].” Hubbs-SeaWorld researchers envision farming striped bass, white bass, California halibut and California yellowtail in 24 net pens secured to the sandy ocean bottom about five miles off the Mission Beach coastline. The aquaculture could produce 3,000 metric tons of fish a year and contribute an estimated $25 million or more annually to the U.S. fishing industry, Drawbridge said. Local fishing industry representatives have reportedly come onboard with the project. Bob Fletcher, president of the Sportfishing Association of California, said Hubbs-SeaWorld has addressed the local fishing industry’s concerns over location. Fletcher said the institute did not propose building the pens in popular ocean fishing grounds frequented by local private fishermen. “As a result of that cooperation with the industry, the fishermen are in support of the Hubbs-SeaWorld program,” Fletcher said. Steve Foltz, vice president of Chesapeake Fishing Company, a seafood distributor based at the San Diego Bay, agreed. He said the project is a good thing all around because it would help meet consumer demand. Hubbs-SeaWorld already operates a white seabass hatchery in Carlsbad that grows and releases “fingerlings” into the ocean and that electronically tracks the fish movement. Catherine Miller, a representative of the San Diego Sportfishing Council, said the Carlsbad hatchery boosts the fish population that helps the local fishing industry. Environmentalists remain skeptical but are open to the project, said Bill Hickman, executive director of the Surfrider Foundation in San Diego. His concerns include pollution from fish feed and waste, the attraction of predators such as seals and sharks and escaping fish. Hubbs-SeaWorld researchers say the fish are native to the California coast and do not represent a threat to the ocean environment. Currents would carry fish waste away and nets around the fish farm would keep predators at bay, according to Hubbs-SeaWorld officials. “I don’t know if we would support it, but we wouldn’t be opposed to it,” Hickman said. “If it moves forward we want to make sure it’s done properly.” Hubbs-SeaWorld must acquire permits from the California Coastal Commission before it can begin construction within a few years.