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Commercial Marine Finfish Net Pen Aquaculture in Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca
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Commercial Marine Finfish Net Pen Aquaculture in Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca

Laura Butler, Brian Joseph, Blanche Sobottke, Misty Blair, Casey Dennehy, Rich Doenges, Curt Hart, Brian Lynn, Laurie Niewolny, Eric Kinne, …
22-06-008
04/2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7273/000008429
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Commercial Marine Finfish Net Pen Aquaculture in Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca1.43 MBDownloadView
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Department of Ecology, State of WashingtonView
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Abstract

Fish and Fisheries
For more than 40 years, commercial finfish farmers have operated marine net pens in Puget Sound. Many state agencies regulate these operations or lease public aquatic lands to these finfish farmers. After a net pen array near Cypress Island collapsed in August 2017 releasing 250,000 non-native Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound, the 2018 Washington Legislature passed EHB 2957, placing a ban on rearing non-native marine fish species in open water net pens and required state agencies to finalize the ongoing development of a new guidance document. The Commercial Marine Finfish Net Pen Aquaculture in Puget Sound and Strait of Juan de Fuca: Guidance and Risk Management document was developed jointly by the Washington departments of Agriculture, Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, and Natural Resources. It updates and improves the state’s collective understanding about the current risks and best management practices necessary to reduce environmental impacts of commercial finfish net pen aquaculture to the Puget Sound environment. In addition, the document also discusses the legal framework and interagency collaboration necessary to appropriately regulate the commercial net pen aquaculture industry. Finally, the document provides recommendations for legislative oversight and research necessary to fill data gaps concerning the environmental effects of commercial marine finfish net pen aquaculture in Puget Sound. As such, the document is intended as a reference for: • Local and state agencies responsible for authorizing new and continued net pen operations. • Current fish net pen operators. • Proponents for new marine finfish net pen projects.

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