A worker inspecting the net cages in a salmon farm. (Photo: Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)

Conservation group to sue Cooke over salmon escape

Conservation group Wild Fish Conservancy plans to sue Cooke Aquaculture over the recent escape pf thousands of Atlantic salmon from a farm that the Canadian firm operates off Cypress Island into Puget Sound.

The NGO sent the firm a notice explaining the legal action was due to the violation of the federal Clean Water Act and alleges the fish spill violates pollution laws because it sent farmed salmon, dead carcasses and other debris into the water.

Cooke has been quick to attribute the failure of their Cypress Island net pen to unusually high tides associated with the solar eclipse event that took place the morning of August 21. But Wild Fish Conservancy expressed bewilderment by the company’s claim as it argues that the solar eclipse was an event which showed no recorded impact on tides, presented a tidal occurrence that they could not have prepared for.

The NGO considers the accident to be Cooke’s glaring negligence, which has led to an environmental disaster of epic proportion.

The NGO points out that the needless escape of up to 305,000 Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound represents a dire threat to already imperiled wild fish populations, beloved marine mammal species, and the fragile Puget Sound ecosystem at large, and Wild Fish Conservancy fears impacts to these critical aspects of our region will be felt for years to come.

“The escapement of Atlantic salmon poses threats of competition to native juvenile and adult salmon and steelhead,” said the Conservancy’s fisheries scientist Dr. Nick Gayeski.

“The escaped fish still need to feed and thus are likely to compete with native juvenile Pacific salmon and steelhead, including preying on them. Like Pacific salmon, Atlantic salmon spawn in the fall. The escaped fish are capable of spawning and will begin entering Puget Sound rivers to attempt to spawn. Whether the escaped fish succeed in producing offspring or not, they will compete on the spawning grounds with native salmon, including endangered Puget Sound chinook, posing a threat to the spawning success of native salmon,” the scientist added.

For his part, Kurt Beardslee, Executive Director Wild Fish Conservancy pointed out that this disaster needs to be a wake-up call for the public to get involved, and to demand a halt to the expansion of the Atlantic salmon net pen industry into the Straits of Juan de Fuca.

On the other hand, Cooke spokesman Chuck Brown said in a statement that the company will review the group’s claim but is currently focus on recovering the fish and preventing further releases.

In its defense, Cooke stated that it maintains a detailed fish escape and recapture plan as part of its operations, and has implemented that plan in response to this loss of fish. In addition, it pointed out that all authorities have been notified of the situation and are receiving regular updates and that a full recapture plan is being implemented.

“We will work with the relevant authorities to make sure we can employ the best knowledge, technology and the expertise of our global experts as we rebuild the farm,” the firm released in a statement.

Related articles:

- DFO closely monitors Atlantic salmon escape in US
- Eclipse's high tides cause mass farmed Atlantic salmon escape

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