From coastalwatershedinstitute.org: There’s been a bit of buzz about the status of steelhead net pens in the US/Washington state Salish Sea over the last three months or so. Most recently, Cooke Aquaculture withdrew their appeal of the recent decision upholding Washington state DNR’s ban of net pens on state aquatic lands. This has been touted as, quote, ‘the end of the fight’ against net pens in Washington waters (DNR March 2024).
Except? It absolutely *isn’t* the end of the fight. While Hillary Franz, the current Washington state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Public Lands Commissioner, made the decision to ban net pens over a year ago, the DNR hasn’t taken any action to codify this rule into agency law (DNRa). Codifying the decision is a three-step process (DNR b). And while other DNR rules have sailed thru this codifying process over the same time period, the net pen decision? Hasn’t budged.
Hillary Franz is not running for re-election. She will no longer be DNR Lands Commissioner after the November elections.
In it’s current state, the net pen ban can be rescinded with a literal stroke of a pen by the next Lands Commissioner. Industry is laying plans for just this. At least one Commissioner candidate has made very clear statements supporting net pens. And Cooke Aquaculture and the Jamestown Tribe, collaborators on a steelhead net pen plan for the central Strait of Juan de Fuca/ Port Angeles Harbor, are now giving ‘informal’ presentations to local groups to try and garner support of future in water net pen projects-including Port Angeles harbor. This isn’t a ‘proposal’. It’s a *plan*. And they’re not asking-they are *telling* folks what is going to happen. They’re doing so quietly now-but will be full throttle after the Washington State DNR Commissioner election is over, and the new Commissioner is in place.
What can you do?
1. PUSH Washington DNR to codify the current net pen ban rule immediately;
2. Confirm early and repeatedly the position of prospective future incoming Washington State Lands Commissioner on in-water net pens, and make sure they also have your input and a clear position on net pens, and;
3. Make sure to let local aquaculture leaders and resource agency managers and officials know that upland contained is the only farmed salmon alternative for our country and state (one very successful operation is already in full swing in BC-link to their information is below).
For those that are new to the topic, here is an excellent link summarizing truth about open net pens https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4fVPt1V3sw .
More information, links, and key citations are here:
DNR a. netpen rulemaking https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/em_rule_netpen_cr101.pdf
DNR b.https://www.dnr.wa.gov/rule-making….
DNR 2024. https://www.dnr.wa.gov/…/commissioner-franz-fight…
Mapes 2022. https://www.seattletimes.com/…/state-supreme-court-oks…/
Blue Star Foods model farm module designed to grow 100 Tonnes of Steelhead Salmon per year: https://bluestarfoods.com/little-cedar-falls/
Upland Net Pens get fish into tanks out of the sea.
Filed under: Aquaculture, Clallam County, Environmental Activism, Environmental Protection, fishing | Tagged: Olympic Peninsula, Port Angeles |
You need to make a better and clearer case. I have no idea what “upland contained” means. If the BC farm is raising steelhead, which is what the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe plans to do with Cooke, what is the difference and the reason for fighting about it, please? — Port Angeles resident, not a fan at all of Cooke
Thanks. See https://olyopen.com/2018/02/01/norwegian-company-to-build-large-land-based-salmon-farm-in-belfast-maine-republican-journal/?amp=1