Surfrider raises concerns about issuing new pollutant discharge permit to Kauaʻi Shrimp

Environmental activists testified during a public meeting last week in Kekaha that Kauaʻi Shrimp, the island’s only shrimp farm, should not be issued a new pollutant discharge permit due to concerns about its effluent polluting waters and killing fish.

No decisions were made during the Nov. 13 meeting held by the State Department of Health’s Clean Water Branch.

Several members of the nonprofit Surfrider and Bridget Hammerquist, president of Friends of Mahaʻuleou, a local group of concerned citizens working to protect the island’s coastal valley, were among the testifiers concerned about the impacts of the effluent caused by shrimp discharge.

They also wanted the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit to include pollutants from other nearby operations.

“The proposed permit does not do enough to limit pollution and protect clean water,” said Surfrider member Hanna Lilly at the meeting.

She said the group was “troubled by the weak water quality protections in the permit,” including a lack of coordinated regulation with the nearby Agribusiness Development Cooperation.

Lilly also said Surfrider requests that the farm’s “permit be strengthened or denied to avoid violation of the Clean Water Act.”

The renewal of the permit would allow the Kaua’i Shrimp to continue discharging pollutants into Kinikini Ditch, which collects effluent from the shrimp that is discharged into the receiving waters known as the “Suez Canal” or “Canal D,” and flows into Waiapua’a Bay, unofficially known as Major’s Bay.

Kauaʻi Shrimp, located in Kekaha, has held a pollutant discharge permit since it began operations in 1999. The farm produces 730,000 pounds of whiteleg shrimp annually in its facility, which consists of 40 1-acre production ponds, eight 1/2-acre nursery ponds and 24 raceways supplied by four land-based water wells.

Grant Kunishima, general manager of Kaua’i Shrimp and director of its owner, Sunrise Capital, said the farm goes through “rigorous testing monthly and quarterly for all the testing requirements that the EPA and the [Department of Health] have set.”

He also said the farm is currently in the process of being “sold to a local business.”

In July, it was announced that Oahu-based company Aloun Farms had acquired Kaua’i Shrimp and would take over ownership from Netherlands-based Hendrix Genetics. The closing was expected to have happened in October. 

Kunishima said Aloun Farms is “an integral part” of the local food industry and community. He also said the company has brought sustainable farming to Kauaʻi and does not genetically engineer, or use antibiotics or hormones on its shrimp.

“Our employees, who live locally, are passionate about preserving the environment and are proud to work,” Kunishima said.

Carl Berg, a Surfrider Kauaʻi board member and ecologist, was critical of Kunishima’s testimony, stating it was just a “slideshow saying how wonderful neighbors they were.”

A representative for Sunrise Capital said Kunishima was out of the office and unavailable for an interview this week.

Berg said Surfrider last objected to the shrimp farm’s pollutant discharge permit in October 2021, when the foundation requested the public meeting that ultimately took three years to hold.

Berg said at the meeting he was “extremely concerned” about the level of pollution going into the ocean on the west side.

He said the permit should not be viewed as a renewal, and instead the process should start over because of the new ownership, activities and species in the area.

He and other Surfrider members say discharges should be regulated in the same permit process as the Agribusiness Development Corporation, which uses the same water.

The combined permit would ensure water quality standards are met and avoid “finger-pointing” between the shrimp farm and the Agribusiness Development Corporation about who is to blame for thousands of fish dying due to water pollution, Berg said.

“Our big point was that, if you file an environmental impact statement or an environmental assessment, you can’t do it in segments. You have to look at the whole thing,” Berg said.

In an email response to a question about Surfrider’s claim that the department does not consider pollution being caused by the Agribusiness Development Corporation, the State Department of Health said a separate pollutant discharge permit has been drafted for the corporation.

“Both the type of discharge and the receiving waters are different between the facilities,” the department said in an email sent by communications representative Kristen Wong.

The state Department of Health also said it’s too early to comment on public testifiers’ concerns because comments are currently being evaluated. There were also 34 written responses, which included eight letters of support for the permit, according to the department.

Kauaʻi County Council member Ross Kagawa was the only person in addition to Kunishima to speak in support of the permit. He said the company’s employees are “not the type of individuals” that would not address pollution entering the ocean.

“These are good, solid, local, west side people,” Kagawa said.

He also discussed the importance of sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, saying Kaua’i Shrimp has proven that other industries besides tourism are possible on the island.

He acknowledged environmental concerns but advocated for “working together” and a reasonable approach to address issues instead of strict measures that could put the farm out of business.

“We need sustainable agriculture for the future,” he said.

In a phone conversation Thursday, Berg addressed statements made by Kagawa, saying Surfrider does not want the shrimp farm to stop operating or go out of business.

“We just don’t want them to pollute the environment where we surf and fish,” Berg said. “We don’t want them to pollute while they’re doing their business. … They don’t get a free ride to be a free polluter just because everybody likes to eat their shrimp.”

He emphasized that the permit should not be accepted or passed in its current form, but the Department of Health said in an email no additional regulations are being considered.

A decision on the pollutant discharge permit will be made after all public comments have been evaluated, according to the Department of Health, which did not provide a specific date or timeframe for the decision.

Members of the public who want to provide feedback on the Agribusiness Development Corporation’s permit can submit comments through Nov. 29.