Good article pulling together the issues we faced five years back. Now the questions about who and why Ecology and WDFW were fighting us tooth and nail may become clearer.
So, it is Sunday morning… and after reading more articles about the environmental catastrophe and the release of thousands of Atlantic Salmon into the waters of Puget Sound, I am drawn to my computer to pen a few words about how Counties identified this as a significant environmental issue over 5 years ago, and how the state environmental agencies and leaders interfered with our efforts to ban Atlantic Salmon Net Pens. This fact has led me to look through emails and documents that jarred my memory and further made me proud of our county leaders… and disappointed that the state rebuffed our efforts.
Starting in 2012, the Washington State Association of Counties (WSAC), through the leadership of our Coastal Counties Caucus, desired to place a moratorium on Atlantic Salmon Fish Farms in Puget Sound. Led by Whatcom County through their Shoreline Management Master Plan, and later by then, County Commissioners Phil Johnson (Jefferson County) and Angie Homola Island County, Counties sought an outright ban on Atlantic Salmon Net Pens – fish farms – as we knew they are an ecological disaster waiting to happen.
Read the whole story here.
http://wsac.org/atlantic-salmon-counties-asked-for-net-pen-ban-five-years-ago/
Filed under: Aquaculture, Puget Sound | Tagged: Puget Sound |
