Salmon farming to be phased out in US state

THE US state of Washington has banned Atlantic salmon farming, after a bill was signed to phase out all sea pens by 2025.

State governor Jay Inslee put his signature on the legislation, as expected, last month, spelling the end of US operations for Canadian company Cooke Aquaculture.

The move follows a campaign against Cooke’s Atlantic salmon farms, after a mass escape last summer when one of its Cyprus Island sites collapsed. An estimated 260,000 salmon were lost in Puget Sound, although Cooke disputes this number.

The governor also vetoed a section of the bill that said the legislature would ‘revisit the issue of marine finfish aquaculture once additional research becomes available’.

Scientists had asked for the legislation to be halted, and Cooke claims it has been discriminated against under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Cooke spokesman Joel Richardson said: ‘While our company and our rural sea farming employees are deeply disappointed by the governor’s decision to ignore the science and sign the bill, we will certainly respect the wishes of the legislature.

‘Our employees remain our top priority, and Cooke Aquaculture Pacific will continue to take the time we need to fully evaluate our operations and investments in Washington and explore all our available options.’

The company, headquartered in New Brunswick, paid more than $70 million for nine farms in 2016. The last of its leases expires in 2025.

Industry leaders have expressed dismay over the decision. The CEO of Cermaq, Geir Molvik, said aquaculture has a responsibility to feed the world’s growing population.

‘We will soon be nine billion people and only two per cent of our food comes from the ocean and most fish stocks are fully utilised,’ Molvik told Undercurrent News last month.

‘Fish has a much lower carbon footprint than production of animal protein. We need more fish farming, and we have an obligation to use those areas that are suitable for fish farming. I hope the State of Washington will find a way forward to do their part.’

However, the US government body that oversees fish farming has claimed it is powerless to save the industry in Washington state.

Michael Rubino, director of aquaculture at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told the Boston Seafood show last month that their hands were tied.