Seattle Times: Seattle Chefs Tell Inslee To Remove Salmon Net Pens from Washington's Waters

"it smells like death"

It doesn't look much better.

Chef Hajime Sato  of sustainable sushi restaurant Mashiko has something to say to Gov. Inslee: “Do the right thing for the people and the planet, not the corporations who don’t care about the environment. That’s why you were elected. A few bucks today isn’t worth [expletive] when you’ve destroyed the planet to get it. Think about it.” 

Renee Erickson, of The Walrus and the Carpenter, The Whale Wins, and more, says it’s “just gross.”
“Please stop fish farming in our beautiful waters. We need to set an example of what sustainable is.”

 Restaurateur Tom Douglas calls the practice [of farming nonnative Atlantic salmon] “pillaging our waters.”

Edouardo Jordan of Salare and JuneBaby terms it [raising nonnative Atlantic salmon in Puget Sound] “shocking.”

Read the full article in the Seattle Times here:
http://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/just-gross-seattle-chefs-tell-the-governor-what-they-think-about-fish-farms-in-washington-waters/

Let's add a little lice to your salmon.

And the public waters.

The Shoreline Management Act in not in place to "foster and promote" aquaculture.
The aquaculture industry, whether it be fin fish or shellfish, sees Puget Sound's public waters as little more than a palette to profit from. Assumptions based on science crafted by contract scientists hired by industry has lead politicians and agencies they oversee down a false path. Researchers at universities whose grant money is tied to supporting this false narrative minimize impacts through focusing on small discrete actions instead of large contiguous operation in place now and planned for. Donations to some of the largest nonprofit environmental organizations have caused them to look the other way.

All of this has resulted in nonnative invasive Atlantic salmon and nonnative invasive Pacific oysters spreading throughout Puget Sound, all while spending millions in an attempt to restore native salmon, native Olympia oysters, and restore habitats both are dependent on. This is all being undone.

Glaringly, the Atlantic farming industry has perpetrated a myth supported through NOAA and others that farmed salmon, should they escape, will never swim farm, die soon, and pose no risk. Reliance on "Best Management Practices" has led agencies to off load their responsibilities, believing corporations with profits as their focus will take care of themselves and the environment.

This "science" has been turned on its head, as has the belief in regulatory oversight being adequate. These nonnative invasive Atlantic salmon have traveled over 250 miles, seeking beds to spawn in. BMP's led Cooke to believe that despite a partial collapse of their pen in July they could press another month out of their failing pen, which one month later collapsed completely, releasing over 160,000 nonnative invasive Atlantic salmon into the Salish Sea. All the while, agencies involved in oversight had been lulled to sleep.

Get involved. Industry is. They pay little for the use of the public's waters. They care little what they do to it.
Stop buying farmed salmon from Costco and elsewhere. Ask your server where the salmon on the menu came from. And, sign the petition at Our Sound, Our Salmon, telling Governor Inslee it is time for Washington to remove these industrial operations.
https://www.oursound-oursalmon.org/sign-the-petition#petition