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Competing legislation before a pair of House committees aims to alter the fish farming landscape in Michigan.
A trio of bills would set up rules and regulations for fish farms to follow and allow them to operate in the Great Lakes, on a limited basis.
State Representative Ed McBroom, R-Vulcan, is running point on those measures and says an outright ban on fish farming in the Great Lakes is bad public policy.
However that’s exactly what State Representative Jon Bumstead, R-Newaygo, wants to do. He’s worried about the environmental impact a fish farm could have if a disease is spread from the fish there to fish native to the Great Lakes.
His bill went through a second vetting in a House committee Tuesday but wasn’t voted on. McBroom’s legislation is due before a committee Wednesday but no vote will be taken.
Similar legislation has been introduced in the Michigan Senate although those bills aren’t as far along in the legislative process as the bills in the House.
