Salmon Net Pen Failure: Non-native Atlantic salmon are reported to have spread over an area of 60 miles

Timing is everything. Attend a meeting on why net pens in the Straight of Juan de Fuca is a bad idea.

TUESDAY 29 AUGUST 6-8 PM

Sequim Transit Center 190 W. Cedar Street
Kurt Beardslee - Executive Director Wild Fish Conservancy 
Chris Wilke- Executive Director Puget Soundkeeper Alliance 

"Science" said they would stay

closed to home and wait to be fed.

We're free and we never liked that stuff you were feeding us to make us look pink so we are going elsewhere.
The Seattle Times writes on August 28 the Department of Fish and Wildlife are reporting non-native Atlantic salmon, released from failed net pens off of Cypress Island, have spread over a 60 mile area. This completely destroys any belief in escaped salmon staying close to home, waiting to be fed. Instead, this non-native salmon is now spreading throughout the Salish Sea.

It was the eclipse! No, wait, sorry.

Saturn was in the house of Leo.

Or was it Cancer?

Meanwhile, while astrological charts are being read,

non-native Atlantic salmon are

spreading throughout the Salish Sea.

Caught in a gross understatement (to be kind) and a blatant mis-representation of the failure.
In addition, the initial reports of only 4 thousand fish having escaped has also been shown to be a gross understatement. To date, the Lummi Tribe alone has reported its commercial fisherman have netted over 200,000 pounds of Atlantic salmon, or an estimated 20,000 fish. This total does not include the unlimited amount the public has been allowed to catch or what other commercial fisherman may have caught. Or those who have found better food elsewhere.

They'll only eat processed food. Yum.

Of course when that food isn't 

being fed to them,

they eat other things.

Farmed and dangerous (thank you Scientific America)
Washington's Department of Natural Resources, who leases the bedlands below the pens to Cooke and is in part responsible for oversight of this operation, has notified Cooke their pen failure and subsequent release of the non-native Atlantic salmon into Washington's marine habitat (and now likely Canada's) has put Cooke in default of their lease agreement. They should put them to bed. The threat posed by the escaped salmon on native salmon is real, whether it be from consuming native smolt to spreading sea lice to spreading disease. Scientific America writes on the escape and notes a dearth of research, and many assumptions.

No worries. We're with the government and have formed an incident command response team to deal with our lack of prior oversight.
August 24, the various agencies responsible held a conference call to try and figure out what to do. As noted in the notes from the meeting, it was felt it would be a good idea to form a committee of various agencies responsible for oversight. Despite years of assurance that net pen farming was being regulated and that failures such as this were unlikely, they note:

"Much concern was expressed yesterday about the lack clarity as to which agency is responsible for addressing and managing the response of the incident." 

Get involved and tell Governor Inslee and your elected officials it's time to remove these industrial operations from Puget Sound's waters.

Reminder: May 21 - Industrial Aquaculture's Impact on Puget Sound Ecosystems

(Reposted from April 2)

The Association of Bainbridge Communities'

Annual Environmental Conference

(Note: The conference is free. However, due

to space limitations, registration is required.)

When: May 21, 12:30 pm to 5:30 pm
Where: 4450 Blakely Ave NE, Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
Registration: [click here] (Note: Space is limited so registration is required).

This may be good for a few corporations

and the very well off consumers in China,

but not for Puget Sound. Find out why.

The Association of Bainbridge Communities' annual Environmental Conference will cover the impacts to Puget Sound from industrial aquaculture. From the announcement:

"Speakers for this regional conference will cover ecosystem impacts, science and policy of aquaculture, legal aspects of the industry, food safety and health issues, problems with Atlantic salmon netpens, and experiences of neighbors living with this industry on their shorelines."

Agenda:

12:30 pm - Registration/Exhibits at IslandWood Welcome Center
1:00 pm - Introduction to Conference
1:10 pm - Overview of Impacts of Industrial Aquaculture
1:30 pm - Dispelling the Myths of Aquaculture
2:05 pm - Legal Aspects including Shellfish Initiative
2:35 pm - Regulatory Gaps in Permitting
3:00 pm - BREAK to visit exhibits
3:20 pm - Specific Aquaculture Topics: Atlantic Salmon Feedlots and Spraying and Health Issues
4:20 pm - Panel of Puget Sound Homeowners impacted by Industrial Aquaculture
5:20 pm - Next Steps: getting involved
5:30 pm - Adjournment

DOE on Net Pen Fish Farming in Washington: After 30 years it's time we re-visited it.

Comment period extended to March 4

Email Cedar Bouta with DOE at: cedar.bouta@ecy.wa.gov

See: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/sea/aquaculture/recommendations.html

Should permit decisions on salmon net pen

farming be based on guidance from a 30 year old plan?

A 30 year management plan on salmon net pen farming is finally going to be updated - after most counties on Puget Sound have been told their Shoreline Master Programs must accommodate net pen aquaculture. Is this really guidance or accommodation of an industry's desire to exploit Puget Sound's critical marine habitat for their benefit?

Yes, a lot can happen in 30 years.

Genetic modification is only one thing.

Have another meeting, write another email, give me some new guidance. Or not.

DOE notes they hope to have a new plan by 2019. A date after which which permits have been issued under the 30 year old management plan DOE used to tell counties this activity was in the state wide interest and must be allowed. This is the same DOE who decided not to discuss PVC tubes in their SMP Handbook, Chapter 16, with Ms. Bouta writing in an email dated June 17, 2015, to DOE's Perry Lund, "...I'm hesitant to include guidance on PVC tubes in the Aquaculture SMP Handbook chapter...". After whatever meetings took place, it was decided to leave mention of PVC tubes out of the chapter on Aquaculture, presented by DOE to counties to use in their program planning process.

Puget Sound's low salinity

keeps Sea Lice from being a problem.

(DOE's Lori Levander in 2013)

Here, at 45:27

Near Olympia, about as far south as you can get,

Sea Lice have no problem surviving.

Net Pen science likely discovers risks to wild salmon and marine habitat over 30 years time. But let's wait until the SMP updates are completed and we've told counties these pens are in the "statewide interest" so should be permitted.

Ecology is replacing the state’s 30-year old management recommendations for commercial marine finfish aquaculture (net pens). Why the Department of Ecology decided to wait until most of the counties impacted by what an updated plan would reveal isn't made clear. Unfortunately, as noted above, by the time a new "plan" is created, new operations will have been permitted and will likely never go away.

Politics at its best: Industry and DOE 

hand in hand, testifying before the House

on why net pen farming is good for you (2013)

Net pen farming is good for you

if you're a fish grower, questionable by others.

(CLICK HERE for testimony which begins at 22:50

through 1:01:43, then begins again at 1:04:39 to 1:59:00)

Is it any wonder people question who the Department of Ecology is really working for?
After allowing Whatcom County to ban salmon net pens in their Shoreline Master Program update, then telling Jefferson County "oops, we made a mistake" and Jefferson County could not ban them in their SMP update, then telling Island County they would be able to ban them due to a "...lack of evidence that net pens are an immediately foreseeable use", and having told other counties in the process of updating their Shoreline Master Programs net pen farming is in "the statewide interest" and should be allowed, Washington's Department of Ecology has now decided their 30 year old management plan should be updated with current science. Science which may have been found to be very useful in determining whether, in fact, net pen farming is really something in the statewide interest, or instead, in the interest of a few large corporations seeking to exploit Puget Sound's critical marine habitat. Orchestrated testimony before a House committee by net pen industry representatives with DOE on net pen farming clearly puts in question who is pulling what strings.

Get involved. As seen in the 2013 testimony, industry is and they are very motivated.
At the very least you may send comment to DOE on what a new and updated plan should include. Better is to tell DOE and your elected officials they have so badly managed their net pen guidance that no permitting in any counties should be allowed until the new plan is developed.

Governor Inslee: https://fortress.wa.gov/es/governor/
Legislative and Congressional contacts:
http://app.leg.wa.gov/DistrictFinder/