WDFW issues permit for Cooke Aquaculture to bring in 1.8m eggs from Iceland

[pianoman9701]

WDFW issues permit to Cooke Aquaculture
to transport Atlantic salmon eggs from Iceland
OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) has authorized Cooke Aquaculture to transport 1.8 million Atlantic salmon eggs from its facility in Iceland to the company's land-based hatchery in Rochester, Wash.
WDFW issued the transfer permit late Tuesday, Oct. 10, after ensuring Cooke met all the fish health standards required under state law to import Atlantic salmon eggs.
Cooke operates net pens at eight locations in Puget Sound, including at Cypress Island, where one pen collapsed on Aug. 19 and released tens of thousands of Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound and nearby waters.
The incident at Cypress Island, near the San Juan Islands, remains under investigation. About half of the 305,000 fish from the collapsed pen are thought to have escaped.
After the net pen collapse in August, Gov. Jay Inslee directed that no permits be issued for new aquaculture net pens while the incident was being investigated. However, WDFW does not have the authority under current regulations to deny Cooke's request to import healthy Atlantic salmon eggs, which will mature at the hatchery into juvenile fish and eventually be used in net pen operations.
Cooke applied in mid-September for permission to move about 1.8 million Atlantic salmon eggs from its hatchery in Vogar, Iceland, to the company's Scatter Creek hatchery in Rochester. The move is expected to take place later this week.

[fish vacuum]

However, WDFW does not have the authority under current regulations to deny Cooke's request to import healthy Atlantic salmon eggs

What good is a permit if the issuing agency can't deny it? Cooke must have some good friends in Olympia.


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[pianoman9701]

  It's crazy.

[j_h_nimrod]

However, WDFW does not have the authority under current regulations to deny Cooke's request to import healthy Atlantic salmon eggs

What good is a permit if the issuing agency can't deny it? Cooke must have some good friends in Olympia.


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That should say "However, WDFW does not have the authority under current regulations to deny Cooke's request to import healthy Atlantic salmon eggs without cause and support by more than fake news storyies". WDFW has the ability to deny transfers based on founded fish health concerns and sound scientific information.  At this point no one has made up the data that supports not importing these eggs.   

[pianoman9701]

What data? A full review of the company's aquaculture practices and pen integrity should be performed before further damage is done to our wild fish stocks.

[fish vacuum]

I'mhere sure there are policies they have to follow for the permits. If policy says X, Y, and Z conditions must be met to approve the eggs, then that's what they look at. Doesn't matter if something outside of those 3 things is messed up.

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[huntnphool]

 Can someone please explain what the problem is with this, and having those salmon in pens in our waters?

[Skillet]

Open water salmon farms are effectively ultra-concentrated feed lots.  Aside from the facts that they seriously depress the price I get for my wild Alaskan fish, the "dead zones" they create on the bottoms under the areas surrounding the pens, the growing demand for harvesting lower-on-the-food-chain fish to press into pellets to feed them (which has led to the over-harvesting of wild salmon's food supply), the chemicals and antibiotics they put in the feed to keep them alive, etc., etc -

 The real impact we should all be concerned about is the sea lice problem they cause for our wild fish.  These farms are breeding grounds for sea lice, and the outmigrating smolts pick up these lice as they pass by the farms on their way out to sea.  Normally there is no large concentration of lice threatening the smolts during their outmigration, but these farms keep a massive amount ready to pounce at all times.

An adult salmon can handle several dozen lice, no problem.  But to a 4" smolt, picking up just a few of them that early is effectively a death sentence.  I think of it as similar the tick problem with moose.

 

[j_h_nimrod]

What data? A full review of the company's aquaculture practices and pen integrity should be performed before further damage is done to our wild fish stocks.

Review is in progress. You are sounding like a liberal environmentalist, "we have no proof to the contrary, but we are going to make you stop until you prove we are wrong!"

Billions of Atlantics have been reared on this coast and many millions have escaped over the years. There has never been more than unfounded conjecture that they compete with or cause harm to any stocks on this coast and ,with a few isolated and short lived exceptions, have not been known to reproduce in the wild over here. Contrary to popular environmentalist propaganda, a few escapees are not going to create a viable self supporting population that will out compete native species and take over our waters.

[j_h_nimrod]

Open water salmon farms are effectively ultra-concentrated feed lots.  Aside from the facts that they seriously depress the price I get for my wild Alaskan fish, the "dead zones" they create on the bottoms under the areas surrounding the pens, the growing demand for harvesting lower-on-the-food-chain fish to press into pellets to feed them (which has led to the over-harvesting of wild salmon's food supply), the chemicals and antibiotics they put in the feed to keep them alive, etc., etc -

 The real impact we should all be concerned about is the sea lice problem they cause for our wild fish.  These farms are breeding grounds for sea lice, and the outmigrating smolts pick up these lice as they pass by the farms on their way out to sea.  Normally there is no large concentration of lice threatening the smolts during their outmigration, but these farms keep a massive amount ready to pounce at all times.

An adult salmon can handle several dozen lice, no problem.  But to a 4" smolt, picking up just a few of them that early is effectively a death sentence.  I think of it as similar the tick problem with moose.

 

Sea lice are a problem that is endemic to wild fish and is transmitted to the penned fish. There have been a few isolated instances where penned salmon have been suspected of transmitting sea lice to emigrating smolts. How many farms are in SE AK or Alaska in general??  Answer is 0. How many of your troll caught adults in terminal harvest areas have lice?  Probably quite a few.

The "dead zones" are another non-issue for the most part. In the US there is extensive EPA testing to make sure these "zones" are not being created, Canada has much the same testing. There is a reason most adult pen complexes are in areas of high current and flow. The "dead zones" you refer to are possible, but would have as many ill effects for the penned fish as for the other denizens of the area. Not sure if you dive, but take a swim in the back of Katlian, Nakwasina, Readout, or Fish Bay to see what a "dead zone" is. There is nothing but sea cucumber, a few clam holes, anemones, or an occasional crab to be seen.

Of more concern is the sourcing of marine forage fish for the feed, that is a worldwide issue that only a small portion is for feeding penned salmon. Anchovies, herring, and similar fish have been heavily harvested for longer than pen aquaculture has been around and the worlds demand for marine based proteins and oils continues to grow with the increasing population, especially in Asian countries. Blaming salmon aquaculture for the continued depletion of forage fish populations is like saying because I cut down a tree in the forest, I am to blame for the worldwide deforestation.

[Thenewguy]

Open water salmon farms are effectively ultra-concentrated feed lots.  Aside from the facts that they seriously depress the price I get for my wild Alaskan fish, the "dead zones" they create on the bottoms under the areas surrounding the pens, the growing demand for harvesting lower-on-the-food-chain fish to press into pellets to feed them (which has led to the over-harvesting of wild salmon's food supply), the chemicals and antibiotics they put in the feed to keep them alive, etc., etc -

 The real impact we should all be concerned about is the sea lice problem they cause for our wild fish.  These farms are breeding grounds for sea lice, and the outmigrating smolts pick up these lice as they pass by the farms on their way out to sea.  Normally there is no large concentration of lice threatening the smolts during their outmigration, but these farms keep a massive amount ready to pounce at all times.

An adult salmon can handle several dozen lice, no problem.  But to a 4" smolt, picking up just a few of them that early is effectively a death sentence.  I think of it as similar the tick problem with moose.

 

Sea lice are a problem that is endemic to wild fish and is transmitted to the penned fish. There have been a few isolated instances where penned salmon have been suspected of transmitting sea lice to emigrating smolts. How many farms are in SE AK or Alaska in general??  Answer is 0. How many of your troll caught adults in terminal harvest areas have lice?  Probably quite a few.

The "dead zones" are another non-issue for the most part. In the US there is extensive EPA testing to make sure these "zones" are not being created, Canada has much the same testing. There is a reason most adult pen complexes are in areas of high current and flow. The "dead zones" you refer to are possible, but would have as many ill effects for the penned fish as for the other denizens of the area. Not sure if you dive, but take a swim in the back of Katlian, Nakwasina, Readout, or Fish Bay to see what a "dead zone" is. There is nothing but sea cucumber, a few clam holes, anemones, or an occasional crab to be seen.

Of more concern is the sourcing of marine forage fish for the feed, that is a worldwide issue that only a small portion is for feeding penned salmon. Anchovies, herring, and similar fish have been heavily harvested for longer than pen aquaculture has been around and the worlds demand for marine based proteins and oils continues to grow with the increasing population, especially in Asian countries. Blaming salmon aquaculture for the continued depletion of forage fish populations is like saying because I cut down a tree in the forest, I am to blame for the worldwide deforestation.

What about the chemicals?

[j_h_nimrod]

I forgot to mention the chemicals in the food because there are very few, the food contains the same anti-oxidants, stabilizers, etc. that just about any human food in the super market contains or any pet food on the market. As for antibiotics, they are probably used no more in aquaculture than any other animal growing business. There are some anti fungal, anti parasitic, and other treatments out there but they are not used Willy Nilly. As with any food animal the chemicals used during their growth are regulated and controlled. I am not sure how it compares to poultry or beef production but I don't imagine it is any worse.

[Skillet]

Well nimrod, you clearly are concerned about this issue, and have an opinion that differs from mine.  I can respect that.  Before I spend time addressing your arguments, let me be clear that I am open about my motivations as a commercial troller... so what is your dog in this farmed fish fight?   

[huntnphool]

Open water salmon farms are effectively ultra-concentrated feed lots.  Aside from the facts that they seriously depress the price I get for my wild Alaskan fish, the "dead zones" they create on the bottoms under the areas surrounding the pens, the growing demand for harvesting lower-on-the-food-chain fish to press into pellets to feed them (which has led to the over-harvesting of wild salmon's food supply), the chemicals and antibiotics they put in the feed to keep them alive, etc., etc -

 The real impact we should all be concerned about is the sea lice problem they cause for our wild fish.  These farms are breeding grounds for sea lice, and the outmigrating smolts pick up these lice as they pass by the farms on their way out to sea.  Normally there is no large concentration of lice threatening the smolts during their outmigration, but these farms keep a massive amount ready to pounce at all times.

An adult salmon can handle several dozen lice, no problem.  But to a 4" smolt, picking up just a few of them that early is effectively a death sentence.  I think of it as similar the tick problem with moose.

 

 Can you post up some links to back this info up?

[Skillet]

Oh, I probably could when I get time to dig them up, but I'm pulling out of my slip here in a bit to start another winter king trip.  This is just info I'm passing on that I've learned from attending talks,  professional associaton meetings, etc.  Its my livelihood now, so I make it a point to pay attention when I have exposure to relevant info.

I think the major point that Pianoman was trying to make was that in the article WDFW is being presented only as a rubber-stamp to aquaculture.  It is odd that WDFW couldn't deny the permit to an aquaculture business to import live eggs from halfway around the world, yet have denied my ability to buy a bag of live leeches from Wisconsin to fish walleye with.