November 17, 2022 — The Washington State Department of Natural Resources has prevailed in a years’ long effort to end fin fish farming in state-owned waters of Puget Sound, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz has announced.
However, the decision appears to be at odds with the Biden administration’s five-year plan, unveiled in October, to increase aquaculture in the United States.
Franz announced Nov. 14 that the last two fin-fish net pen leases, held by Cooke Aquaculture, will not be renewed by the state. The company is using its existing operations to raise steelhead trout.
Franz stated that the effort to terminate the leases began with lease violations by the lessee and noted the Cypress Island net pen collapse in 2017 which resulted in some 200,000 salmon escaping into the bay, according to a WDNR statement.