Collapsed net pen farming Atlantic Salmon near Cypress Island, WA on Aug. 28, 2017 (photo courtesy of David Bergvall/Washington State Department of Natural Resources)
On November 18, the State of Washington ended commercial net-pen farming of salmon and other finfish in state waters citing impacts to native salmon. Net-pen fish farming has already been outlawed in California, Oregon, and Alaska.
In issuing the executive order banning net-pen finfish aquaculture, Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz stated, “As we’ve seen too clearly here in Washington, there is no way to safely farm fish in open sea net pens without jeopardizing our struggling native salmon,” Franz said. “I’m proud to stand with the rest of the West Coast today by saying our waters are far too important to risk for fish farming profits.”
Read more at Seattle Times and the Anchorage Daily News
Atlantic salmon is the most popular fish on our dinner tables. We’re told it is good for us and good for the environment. But as Salmon Wars, the Dark Underbelly of Our Favorite Fish makes clear, the reality is disturbingly different. Authored by Douglas Frantz and Catherine Collin, their book provides a deep dive into the damage caused by current salmon-farming methods to wild salmon, the surrounding marine environment, traditional fishing communities and the farmed fish themselves.