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Consumer Group Files Lawsuit Against U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over “Pavlov’s Fish” Experiment

Food & Water Watch Demands Suspension of Project Permit Until Completion of Further Research and Public Review

Washington, DC – A national consumer advocacy group sued to stop the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from authorizing a bizarre experimental fish farm in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. The experiment, which garnered national and international press because of its novelty, intends to release fish into the Bay once they are trained to associate a specific sound with being fed.  The experiment aims to see if the trained fish and wild fish return when called.  Food & Water Watch filed the lawsuit on the Thursday before the July 4th holiday weekend, asking the court to immediately stop the project from going forward.  The group is challenging the Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of the permit for the experiment, saying it violated current law, because, among other things, the agency failed to hold a public hearing and complete an adequate environmental review of the project– required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers rushed through the permitting process, ignoring over 1,000 citizen requests for a public hearing and disregarding a wide range of public concerns about the experiment,” stated Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter. “There are serious questions that have yet to be answered about the project’s impacts on the environment and communities surrounding Buzzards Bay.”

Similar to the famed Pavlov’s dogs experiment, researchers at the Marine Biological Laboratory hope to condition about 5,000 hatchery-raised black sea bass to associate certain sounds with feeding. The trained fish will then be put in an “Aquadome,” a dome-shaped cage anchored to the seafloor. After several weeks of playing a tone for 20 seconds at each feeding time and feeding the fish in the cage, they will release the fish and see whether they and other wild fish come back the next time the tone sounds. They hope that both the trained fish and wild fish will return every time they hear the tone, eventually making it easier to catch fish.

“The Corps of Engineers failed to adequately review the environmental impacts of the project and hold a public hearing. Right now, there is simply not information about the project to determine if it should be allowed,” stated Hauter.

The proposed site in Buzzard’s Bay is defined as an “Essential Fish Habitat” for endangered and threatened species, crucial for life cycles from spawning and breeding to feeding and maturing. The release of farmed black sea bass into the wild can, over time, change the genetic composition and behavior of wild fish populations and jeopardize the recovery of depleted or endangered species. In addition, when a large number of fish are grown together in a cage in the open ocean, fish waste and excess feed can be released into the surrounding waters and disrupt the natural ecosystem.

The Buzzards Bay Watershed is also an important public resource that contributes significantly to the livelihoods of coastal communities in Bristol County, Plymouth County and Cape Cod.  A healthy Buzzards Bay has long supported commercial and recreational fishing, sailing, and water sports for both residents and visitors.

According to Food & Water Watch, who sued on behalf of its members in New England, including those who recreate on Buzzards Bay, these communities have the right to participate in the decision-making process under the National Environmental Policy Act  (NEPA) of 1969. The law requires federal agencies to take the time to research and understand significant environmental impacts arising from projects they permit, and complete an Environmental Impact Statement that is the basis for public comment.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers should suspend the project’s permit until they hold a public hearing as requested by community members, as well as prepare an Environmental Impact Statement that addresses the potential impacts of the project in Buzzards Bay,” concluded Hauter. “Until then, the agency will be held accountable for failing to protect our marine resources and people that use and care about Buzzards Bay.”