Commercial net pen aquaculture planning meeting March 23

You are invited to attend the next planning meeting for updating the Recommendations for Managing Commercial Net Pen Aquaculture in Washington’s straits and estuaries.

Join us in person or by phone

Those interested may attend in person or by phone. Directions on how to participate through the conference call are listed below.

When: March 23
Time: 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Where: Washington Department of Ecology headquarters auditorium
Address: 300 Desmond Drive SE, Lacey, WA, 98503

State employees learn more about day-to-day operations
from Keven Bright of Cooke Aquaculture Pacific.
Photo by Lori LeVander/Ecology.

Updating the planning tools for commercial net pens

We are working with the Washington departments of Fish & Wildlife and Agriculture to update the state's 30-year-old management guidelines for commercial net pen aquaculture.

Through this project, we aim to deliver modern scientific information to guide state agency, tribal and local government decision makers in siting, managing, and regulating net pens in Washington’s marine waters.

The final report will provide recommendations only - not a rule or law. Regulatory agencies will determine how these recommendations will be incorporated into their decisions around managing commercial net pen aquaculture. A key objective is to provide tools that enable decision makers to protect native Pacific salmon.

Learn more about the project on our Recommendations for Managing Net Pen Aquaculture webpage. Subscribe to the project listserv to receive email updates.

New commercial fish farm (net pen) management tools being developed: Provide your input on project scoping by March 4

NOTE: We have decided to extend the deadline for public input after receiving several requests for more time. This blog was edited Jan. 11 to reflect the new deadline for feedback March 4, 2017.

Washington’s 30-year-old management guidelines for commercial, marine fish farms (net pens) are getting an overhaul. Ecology has partnered with the state departments of Fish & Wildlife and Agriculture, and the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science to write new management recommendations useful for the industry and coastal managers – including state and local government regulators.

View from the water of a commercial fish farm near Bainbridge Island. Photo by Jessica Payne/Ecology

We’re just getting started, and we want your input

The multi-year project is just getting underway and you are invited to provide input on early decisions made by the project team. Two documents are available for review and comment. You can view and download these documents on our project website.

1. A summary of draft scoping decisions that describes early decisions made by the team regarding:

• Geographic and topical scope
• Scientific and technical review
• Outreach and opportunities for interested parties to influence the outcome

2. A writing outline that will guide the project team through fact-finding and identification of suitable safeguards and management practices. The team is especially interested in feedback on topics you would like to see addressed in the final document. This will serve as a table of contents for the final guidance document.

We’re accepting public comments now through March 4. 

This project is designed to give us up-to-date information on this use and better understand the concern of citizens. What we learn will help us ensure any new facilities are sited and operated consistent with current science and modern management practices. It is not designed to determine whether or not future net pens will be allowed.

Learn more on our Frequently Asked Questions page.

State employees learn more about day-to-day operations
from Kevin Bright of Cooke Aquaculture Pacific.
Photo by Lori LeVander/Ecology.

Send us your feedback

Please send us your feedback and help influence project outcomes.

Submit input by March 4 to:

Ms. Cedar Bouta
Shorelands and Environmental Assistance Program
WA Dept. of Ecology
P.O. Box 47600
Lacey, WA 98504-7600.
Email: Cedar.Bouta@ecy.wa.gov

Visit our project webpage to learn more. Subscribe to our listserv to get email updates and make sure you have the latest information.

By: Cedar Bouta, Shorelands and Environmental Assistance program

Water’s Edge: Planning for salmon farms

Science and the law leads the way in regulating salmon net pens

By Cedar Bouta, shoreline environmental planner

Alevin (newly hatched salmon) with yolk sac.
Photo: PNW Salmon Center.

Washingtonians are passionate about our salmon. We give smoked salmon as presents and take visitors to the Pike Place Market for salmon tossing. We also use images of them on beer, t-shirts and other products. In addition, native peoples harvest and consume wild salmon as an important part of their cultures.

Our conversations about wild versus farmed salmon are passionate too.

That’s why the University of Washington’s Northwest Environmental Forum sponsored a March 22-23 gathering that brought together about 65 stakeholders with differing perspectives about commercial salmon farming in Washington. The forum was a success in bringing together parties who – although on opposite sides of lawsuits or with differing points of view – were willing to come, learn and listen.

The forum highlighted:

• The stakeholders’ shared commitment to a healthy marine environment, recovery of native salmon, and local jobs.
• A growing demand for seafood and the health benefits of eating more salmon.
• The complex oversight provided by local, state and federal permits and authorizations for commercial fish farms.
• A need for more sharing of science and other information about Washington’s existing fish farms.

Commercial salmon net pens near Bainbridge Island, Washington. 

The state of salmon in Washington

Salmon are part of our state’s legacy. Washington has a coordinated, scientifically-rigorous recovery plan spearheaded by the Puget Sound Partnership to ensure wild salmon are part of Washington’s future. The plan contains programs and projects designed to restore native salmon runs and protect endangered and threatened stocks.

Many of the stakeholders represented at the March net pen forum have contributed to salmon recovery in Puget Sound and are working towards addressing urban runoff and other threats.

Feeding a seafood-hungry world

As committed as we are to our native salmon, forum participants learned that our hunger for seafood is growing and imported, farmed salmon is filling the gap. During the years 2000-2004, Americans consumed an average of about 284,000 metric tons (more than 617 million pounds) of salmon annually, of which approximately:

One-third of salmon consumed was wild and two-thirds was farmed.
One-third was domestic production (farmed and wild) and two-thirds was imported.

From January 2015 through March 2016, over 27 million pounds of fresh and frozen Atlantic salmon were imported from other countries through the Port of Seattle. This was almost twice as much as the annual production of commercial salmon farms in Washington.

Forum participants also learned that salmon aquaculture is one of the most resource-efficient sources of ways to produce protein.

Science leads the way, learning more about net pens

Ecology regulates net pen operations, like this one in
Port Angeles, through water quality permits
and shoreline master programs.

We have information describing our current approach to shoreline planning and commercial salmon net pens on our website. We also have video of scientific presentations and an expert panel discussing net pen operations, fish health, escapement, genetics, water quality and management tools.

Ecology will continue to let science and the law lead the way – adapting our findings and requirements as needed. Working together, we and other stakeholders can ensure commercial net pens do not put wild salmon recovery at risk.

Learn more about Ecology’s role
with net pens on our website.