A New Excuse for Aquaculture's Failures: The Eclipse

"Look! Up in the sky!"

Don't let politics blind you to the truth.

Trust us. Or not. We don't really care.
Reaching a level which reflects the current state of politics, Cooke Aquaculture blames Sunday's net pen failure releasing non-native Atlantic salmon on Monday's eclipse. Cooke states the pen, holding over 3 million pounds and an estimated 305,000 salmon, failed due to “exceptionally high tides and currents coinciding with this week’s solar eclipse”.

"Look! Up in the sky! See that big yellow thing! I'll make it dark!"
Apparently blinded from looking into the sun, reporters have accepted Cooke's excuse. Worse, so too have agencies responsible for ensuring that this non-native species will not escape into Washington's waters where disease, sea lice, and their appetite for native species threatens native salmon.
(Read Seattle Times article by clicking here)

How did he know? Science.

How were we to know? Look at a tide chart.
Get involved. This excuse is nothing more than an attempt to tamp down the real threat which this level of industrial aquaculture presents to Puget Sound and Washington's marine waters, seen as a palate for profits by corporations. Plans for expansion are in gear with this same operator proposing a large farm in the Straight of Juan de Fuca. If they cannot prevent pen failures due to a high tide predicted in advance for years they should not be allowed to operate in Washington's waters. Employees of agencies who believe it should be fired.