A Fishes Article from All-Creatures.org

Historic Win Ends Net-Pen Fish Farms in Washington

From Center for Biological Diversity
November 2022

Cooke Aquaculture global seafood corporation — known for a devastating 2017 pen failure at its Cypress Island facility that released some 260,000 Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound, threatening native fish — will stop operating in state waters.

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Following years of work by the Center and allies, the Washington Department of Natural Resources announced Monday night it won’t be renewing Cooke Aquaculture’s net-pen permits.

That means the global seafood corporation — known for a devastating 2017 pen failure at its Cypress Island facility that released some 260,000 Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound, threatening native fish — will stop operating in state waters.

“We’ll have cleaner water and better-protected salmon populations,” said the Center’s Sophia Ressler.

Washington state joins the rest of the U.S. Pacific Coast and British Columbia in banning these facilities in open water.

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