密歇根新闻广播 密歇根会在五大湖进行鱼类养殖吗?

OK, this is where I fess up and tell you that the answer to that headline is "only time will tell."

A scientific advisory¹ panel is studying the possibility now (see their names here), and we expect to see their findings this October. After that report, there will be more "time telling" as state officials decide whether to allow it.

But right now, there's a lot of buzz.

The Canadians raise fish commercially in open-water pens on the Great Lakes, and proponents² say producing seafood³ like this has the potential to be a billion dollar business for Michigan. But critics say it's too risky⁴, and it wouldn't mix well with the state's tourism industry.

Peter Payette from our partner station Interlochen Public Radio got the latest on the debate when he attended a conference on open-water aquaculture in St. Ignace.

Payette says proponents of net-pen aquaculture planned the event.

"But they've organized it as a dialogue, so there are a fair number of skeptics and critics here," he said.

It's on the Canadian side of Lake Huron — up in the North Channel and the Georgian Bay — that Canadians are farming trout⁵ for restaurants and grocery stores.

And Payette says several of these Canadian fish farmers spoke⁶ up at the conference.

"They're very interested to defend their industry — to show that they've done this responsibly, without harming the lake — and to advocate that Michigan go the same direction," he says.

Farmers have been raising fish on the Canadian side of the lakes for 20 years, but Payette says it's hard to know whether or not the farming has caused any damage to the lake and its ecosystems⁷.

"Well there's no one to really check that," he said. "The Ministry⁸ of Natural Resources in Ontario has been pretty quiet about this. I've not been able to get them to talk to me for my reporting, and they were not here today. So there's really no one involved to respond, in any serious way, to the assertions of the fish producers."

Critics of open-water pens in the Great Lakes did chime in, however.

They raised several potential issues.

Phosphorus in the Great Lakes

It's true the Great Lakes need phosphorus, Payette says. But too much causes problems, like the algal and cyanobacteria blooms Lake Erie is dealing⁹ with now.

Proponents' response to the phosphorous argument?

"They say it's negligible," Payette said. "And they'll even argue that the upper lakes need phosphorus. So they argue that this could even be a benefit to the lakes."

Critics, on the other hand, don't think the risk aquaculture presents for the Great Lakes is worth it.

The Michigan Environmental Council's Sean Hammond spoke as a panelist at the conference yesterday. Payette said he argued for farming fish not in the Great Lakes, but on land.

"We see a future need for aquaculture and a future need for fish protein, it's just whether we want to see it risking the natural use of the lakes, or if we want to expand it in a way to help revitalize our urban centers," Hammond said.

Payette said Hammond pointed¹⁰ out the potential for fish farming in cities like Detroit and Flint.

He explained that fish farming on land can be controlled and won't affect the ecosystems established in the lakes. He also pointed out that Michigan cities like Detroit and Flint have extra sewer¹¹ capacity and plenty of water to make farming fish on land viable¹².

So is Michigan likely to buy into the open-water pen industry?

Payette says Gord Cole — one of the first fish farmers on the Great Lakes — doesn't think Michigan has the potential for a lot of net-pen aquaculture operations. He said fish farms need to be protected and when looking at a map, he doesn't see many spots on Michigan's side of the Great Lakes that would allow fish to thrive.

"So you're not going to get 100 fish farms," Cole said. "There might be one spot. There might be five spots. There might be 10, maybe. There might very well likely be none."

However, Payette said that a second Ontario fish farmer "was much more optimistic."

"He thinks that, with the right technology and the right design, they can handle more open water. So there were differences of opinion on that," Payette said.

So back to my main point. Will Michigan buy into fish farming on the Great Lakes? We'll have to wait and see, and we'll keep you up to date on the process.

1 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

2 proponents   

n.（某事业、理论等的）支持者，拥护者( proponent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Reviewing courts were among the most active proponents of hybrid rulemaking procedures. 复审法院是最积极的混合型规则制定程序的建议者。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• Proponents of such opinions were arrested as 'traitors. ' 提倡这种主张的人马上作为“卖国贼”逮捕起来。 来自辞典例句

3 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

4 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

5 trout   

n.鳟鱼；鲑鱼(属)

参考例句：

• Thousands of young salmon and trout have been killed by the pollution.成千上万的鲑鱼和鳟鱼的鱼苗因污染而死亡。
• We hooked a trout and had it for breakfast.我们钓了一条鳟鱼，早饭时吃了。

6 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

7 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

8 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

9 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

10 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

11 sewer   

n.排水沟，下水道

参考例句：

• They are tearing up the street to repair a sewer. 他们正挖开马路修下水道。
• The boy kicked a stone into the sewer. 那个男孩把一石子踢进了下水道。

12 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。