Mass escape delays new farm plan

AN application by Cooke Aquaculture to build a new farm has been put on hold, following a mass escape of salmon from one of its other farms.

The company lost thousands of fish in August from a pen in Skagit County, Washington, holding 305,000 salmon.

Cooke, which hopes to site a new farm in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, asked planning officials that a September hearing for a project permit be postponed as it deals with the mass escape of thousands of fish at its other facility.

Cooke has recovered more than 122,000 fish. The Lummi tribe says its anglers have caught another 20,000 fish, reported local media.

Cooke is proposing to build 14 floating circular net pens about 1 ½ miles offshore.

It would move current operations from Port Angeles Harbour and increase production by 20 per cent.

Washington state governor Jay Inslee placed a moratorium on net pen permits until an investigation into the escape is completed.