A marine net pen holding 305,000 farmed Atlantic salmon collapsed recently, releasing thousands of fish into Puget Sound and renewing concerns that a new proposed salmon farm could harm wild salmon stock and cause other environmental damage.
The release at Cooke Aquaculture’s facility comes as the company is proposing new expanded commercial facility in the Strait of Juan de Fuca in Washington state.
Canada-based Cooke, which operates five salmon farms in Washington that it acquired last year, would build 14 floating circular net pens about 1.61 kilometres offshore. It would move current operations from Port Angeles Harbor and increase production by 20 per cent. The project is in the permitting phase.
Critics say the recent fish escape highlights potential risks of open-sea fish farming. They worry about water pollution from fish feed and the potential for farmed fish to spread of diseases and parasites to wild fish.
Phuong Le – CTV News –Â August 24, 2017.
Want More Investigative Content?
