Widespread Power Outage Left Thousands Of Trout Dead At This Maui Farm….For some residents, last week’s still unexplained power outage was an inconvenience. For one farmer, it was devastating.
In the dark, John Dobovan startled awake, gasping for air. The power had gone off, halting the oxygen flowing through the breathing machine he needs to treat his sleep apnea.
It was around 3 a.m., and Dobovan knew he now had much more to worry about than just himself. He runs Hawaii’s first commercial rainbow trout farm, where 11,000 fish relied on electricity to circulate air and water in their tanks, 24/7. Whenever the power goes out, Dobovan has anywhere from 20 to 48 minutes, depending on how full the tanks are, to get air circulating again before fish start dying.
Living in a rural part of Kula, Dobovan knew power outages would be a part of life. He spent the last two years applying for county grant funding to buy a massive $20,000 generator that can power the whole farm during emergencies. But by the time he received the grant money a few months ago, inflation had driven prices up, so he needed to raise more money to cover installation costs.
