Officials Call for Recreational Fishers’ Help After Salmon Farm Collapse

Following the collapse of a salmon farm, the Washington
Department of Fish and Wildlife has asked recreational fishers to
help catch as many Atlantic salmon as possible. Cooke
Aquaculture cited “exceptionally high tides and currents
coinciding with this week’s solar eclipse” as the cause of the
damage, which released an unknown number of farm-bred
Atlantic salmon into the Pacific Ocean. Initial estimates were that
about 5,000 fish escaped, but a Cooke spokesperson reportedly
told the Seattle Times that the entire farm, which contained more
than 300,000 fish, had “totally collapsed.” See Seattle Times,
August 24, 2017.

Issue 645