| There are three main issues with the fish-farms: 1) The near-field carbon and nutrient loading is extremely high for a marine ecosystem. Nutrients released by the fish-farms will be advected and mixed to background concentrations before significant amounts are removed or taken-up by benthic communities. It was noted that this near-field effect must not be damaging to coral reefs because some 450 colonies of corals representing 22 different genera have settled near the cages. 2) Most of the contention regarding the nurtient input from the fish-farms is focused on the far-field effects of nutrient loading. The reasoning is that phytoplankton, which can double every 1-2 days, will capture and concentrate the nutrients, particularly nitrogen, released from the fish cages. 3) Disease can become an over-riding problem: a) Transmission of diseases from farmed fish to wild fish. b) Transmission of disease and parasite agents from wild fish to farmed fish. At present, the fish-farms report no disease problems over the past years with on use of antimicrobial agents in the feed. (This was taken from an expert report of evaluation of pollution in the Gulf of Eilat. Experts advise that there be a continuing follow up of diagnosis in the near and far future, as these findings may influence previous results) |
 New coral below the Fishing Farms. |