300000+ Atlantic salmon released after pen break

[dscubame]

Yeah, it would have been impossible to predict this.

What do you do when you catch them?  I certainly don't like to eat genetic mutant garbage fed fish.  Maybe crab bait would be the best option.

Where are the "conservation" groups that sue over every hatchery?  It won't be long until some of these genes make their way into wild runs - or outcompete them.

The diseases are the bigger issue.  Entire runs of pacific salmon have been destroyed in BC, Canada due to the net pens.  The Canadian government has court orders silencing and preventing scientists from saying/doing anything negative in regards to the farm fish.

Spot on.  The local anglers including sport and business up in B.C. despise those open pens and are very vocal about it.

[Practical Approach]

Can someone tell me why it is still OK to farm raise Atlantic salmon in net pens all the while it is against the law to farm raise deer and elk? 

[pianoman9701]

Here's the WDFW release just out:

August 22, 2017
Contact: Michelle Dunlop, (360) 902-2255
WDFW encourages anglers to fish for escaped Atlantic salmon
OLYMPIA – State salmon managers are encouraging anglers to fish for thousands of Atlantic salmon that escaped recently from a salmon farm near the San Juan Islands.
Cooke Aquaculture notified the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) of a net pen failure on Aug. 19 that caused the release of Atlantic salmon from the Cypress Island location. About 305,000 salmon were in the net pen at the time, though the company initially estimated that only 4,000-5,000 fish have escaped. Cypress Island lies along Rosario Strait between Guemes and Blakely islands
"Our first concern, of course, is to protect native fish species," said Ron Warren, head of WDFW's Fish Program. "So we'd like to see as many of these escaped fish caught as possible."
Warren said there is no evidence that these fish pose a threat to native fish populations, either through disease or crossbreeding with Pacific salmon. To date, there is no record of Atlantic salmon successfully reproducing with Pacific salmon in Washington's waters, he said.
"It will be some time before we know how many fish escaped the net pens," Warren said. "That's why we've authorized Cooke Aquaculture to fish with beach seine nets and we're encouraging anglers to go out and harvest these fish."
The escaped fish are estimated to be eight to 10 pounds in size and are safe to eat.
There is no size or catch limit on Atlantic salmon. However, anglers may only fish for Atlantic salmon in marine waters that are already open to fishing for Pacific salmon or freshwater areas open for trout fishing. Anglers also must stop fishing for Atlantic salmon once they've caught their daily limit of Pacific salmon.
To help anglers identify Atlantic salmon, WDFW has posted a salmon identification guide on its webpage at http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/salmon/atlantic.html
Anglers must have a current fishing license and must also observe gear regulations identified in the 2017-18 sport fishing rules pamphlet. Anglers do not have to report Atlantic salmon on their catch record cards.
WDFW shares management authority with the state Department of Agriculture for monitoring fish diseases. Other state departments, local governments and tribal governments have authority related to the siting of marine aquaculture and water quality.

[h2ofowlr]

It will give the tribes some excitement when they find their nets plugged.   

[HookedOnQuack]

We caught a bunch of them the last time this happened and they were a blast to catch. My grandparents have a house on Miller Bay just around the corner from Bainbridge and they were stacked up thick in the bay around all the docks. We ate them and I couldnt tell a differnce really between them and a wild salmon and Im still alive to tell about it lol

[JimmyHoffa]

Can someone tell me why it is still OK to farm raise Atlantic salmon in net pens all the while it is against the law to farm raise deer and elk?

$$$$$....Seafood corporations have plenty of money to spend on self serving politicians.  I've read before that 90% of NW salmon that go to market are actually fish from the farms.

[SteelheadTed]

Yeah, it would have been impossible to predict this.

What do you do when you catch them?  I certainly don't like to eat genetic mutant garbage fed fish.  Maybe crab bait would be the best option.

Where are the "conservation" groups that sue over every hatchery?  It won't be long until some of these genes make their way into wild runs - or outcompete them.

The diseases are the bigger issue.  Entire runs of pacific salmon have been destroyed in BC, Canada due to the net pens.  The Canadian government has court orders silencing and preventing scientists from saying/doing anything negative in regards to the farm fish.

This. Also, these fish are all sterile I believe, effectively Triploids. They won't spawn, but they will run up the rivers and compete with our local species for food. I caught a couple last time this happened. Talk about an aggressive, hard fighting fish.

They were sterile fish in the case of the Bainbridge pens but WDFW isn't saying that about these fish.  It seems to me they would say that if they were and wouldn't be making such a big deal about getting these fish out of the water.  Me thinks they are worried that either they can breed with native fish or that disease could be an issue.  My bet is on the disease issue since breeding between Pacific salmon and Atlantic has not proven fruitful before.

[jamesfromseattle]

We caught a bunch of them the last time this happened and they were a blast to catch. My grandparents have a house on Miller Bay just around the corner from Bainbridge and they were stacked up thick in the bay around all the docks. We ate them and I couldnt tell a differnce really between them and a wild salmon and Im still alive to tell about it lol

How'd you fish for them?  I have never heard much about sport fishing for Atlantic salmon in the salt.

[Alchase]

They have a milder flavor compared to Coho, Chinook, Sockeye. And they are a paler pink. When you see them in stores read the package ingredients, they add color to the meat to make it more appealing looking. They smoke up just fine though. Use small spoons or noise makers like a Blue Fox.

[metlhead]

I wish they would outcompete all native salmon and infest every river in this state to the point of being a nuisance. Unrestricted fishing and no more politics of saving ESA stocks. God, let them spawn!

[Thenewguy]

They have a milder flavor compared to Coho, Chinook, Sockeye. And they are a paler pink. When you see them in stores read the package ingredients, they add color to the meat to make it more appealing looking. They smoke up just fine though. Use small spoons or noise makers like a Blue Fox.

How deep are they?

[buglebuster]

Something's fishy... No pun intended anyone else find it weird that with all the closures this year to salmon fishing, and all of the anglers in an uproar, that all of a sudden this happens? Sounds to me like the wdfw had something to do with this to provide opportunity and shut everybody up... 

[plugger]

Some are way over reacting, There good eating, there sterile and there a blast to catch. I wish to hell I lived closer, I would be after them every chance I had. If you like triploids, you will like these to.

[James]

Thinking about heading to the san juans, any pro tips from guys that have hammered them before would be greatly appreciated. Water depth, do they like structure? bait, lures, troll speed, etc.

Thanks!

[Stein]

Go to Costco and you can see what they look like.  They dye some of them pinkish depending on what they feed them.


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