Atlantic salmon farming restrictions sought in Washington as Cooke is sued for August escape

Washington State State Senator Kevin Ranker will introduce a bill in the upcoming legislative session that will allow leases for net-pen Atlantic salmon farming in the state to run out by 2025. 

If the bill passes, it will not permit the creation of new Atlantic salmon farms, and existing farming would be governed under stricter guidelines. 

The move by the Democratic lawmaker comes after more than 100,000 Atlantic salmon escaped from fish pens owned by Cooke Aquaculture near Cypress Island, Washington in August. Approximately 400,000 pounds of fish were caught with help from the Lummi Tribe and private fishermen, and although the salmon that escaped were too young to crossbreed with native Pacific salmon species and appear to be starving to death, Ranker says that the event prompted him to act. 

“This has been a long time coming. I am more concerned with the day-to-day impact of invasive-species aquaculture of Atlantic salmon than the escape,” Ranker said, although he also referred to the Cooke incident as a “disaster.” 

“It woke us up to the fact that there is a big problem here,” Ranker added.

The bill is likely to be met by opposition from Cooke, which operates eight Atlantic salmon commercial net pen facilities along Washington’s coast and has recently sought to increase its operations there. The area provides ideal conditions for Atlantic salmon farming, as its waters are colder than in Oregon and there’s more water flow. Alaska and California are not options for Cooke, as the two states have already banned Atlantic salmon net-pen farming.

In addition to Ranker’s bill, Cooke is also facing a lawsuit filed 13 November by the Wild Fish Conservancy. The lawsuit alleges Cooke Aquaculture violated the Clean Water Act by negligently releasing a large number of farmed Atlantic salmon into public waters.