Cooke Aquaculture Pacific has decided to withdraw its appeal against the cancelation of its net pen leases at Rich Passage and Hope Island. The move was announced by Washington state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on March 15th, 2024. Hilary Franz, the Washington Commissioner of Public Lands, announced the dismissal…
State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz announced on Friday, November 18th that commercial net-pen farming of finned fish will end in the waters of Washington state. Of note, net-pen fish farming has been banned in Alaska, Oregon, and California. Canada is calling for companies to phase out the practice…
An Everett man is dead and three others were injured after a 20-foot boat they were operating crashed into an unlit pen net in Port Angeles, Washington on the evening of July 30, 2019. Two adults and one 14-year-old boy from Snohomish County were also in the boat, but survived…
This month a new bill called the Keep Fin Fish Free Act (H.R. 2467) was introduced in response to the growing concerns regarding aquaculture operations. Alaska Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced legislation that would stop officials from the Secretary of Interior and the Secretary of Commerce from authorizing commercial finfish…
Last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a supplemental New Animal Drug Application (NADA) submitted by AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. While the original application was approved in 2015, this current application grants AquaBounty Technologies, Inc. the right to raise a GMO salmon species it has developed called AquAdvantage salmon at…
The Washington State Senate has voted 31-16 to ban all new Atlantic salmon farming in the state and phase out net pen farming by 2025. The phasing out plan will happen gradually as existing aquatic leases expire. This is an update to a post dated August 29, 2017, when we…
A breach in a net pen was initially blamed on high tides and the eclipse. However, in a revised press release, Cooke Aquaculture no longer listed the eclipse as a possible cause, but rather “Exceptionally high tides and currents caused damage to a salmon farm that has been in operation…