URGENT ACTION ALERT

We Need Your Help to Uphold Washington's Historic Ban of Industrial Net pen Aquaculture in Puget Sound

In 2022, our movement celebrated a major environmental victory when Washington's Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz heroically answered the calls of the public by denying new decade-long leases to net pen operator Cooke Aquaculture and announced a groundbreaking new executive order prohibiting industrial net pen aquaculture in Washington state marine waters.

As a result of this historic decision, Cooke Aquaculture was forced to remove their farmed fish, pull up anchors, and leave Puget Sound behind. In 2024, Washington celebrated the first year in over four decades that Puget Sound has been protected and free from rampant daily pollution, the risk of viruses being amplified and spread to wild fish, and the threat of another catastrophic escape event.

Now, we are just one vital step away from cementing that transformative executive order into Washington state law, an action that will prevent industrial net pens from threatening the health of Puget Sound ever again. The Department of Natural Resources is currently holding a rulemaking process on the Commissioner's proposed order.

On December 3, 2024, the Board of Natural Resources, with Commissioner Franz at the helm, will cast a decisive vote on whether to uphold the public’s hard-fought ban on industrial marine net pen aquaculture.

It’s absolutely critical that the members of this Board hear from as many members of the public as possible and understand the widespread support for prohibiting industiral net pens from our public waters.

Since the Our Sound, Our Salmon coalition first launched in 2017, we've celebrated major achievements in the legislature, in direct appeals to publish officials, and in the Courts. It's time for our unstoppable movement to come together under the banner of Our Sound, Our Salmon one final time to preserve all we’ve accomplished together and to protect wild salmon, orcas, tribal treaty rights, and the health of Puget Sound for generations to come.

But this final fight won't be easy. Once again, we're going up against Cooke Aquaculture, a billion dollar corporation, and their allies in the net pen industry. Together, they are already working behind the scenes in a last-ditch attempt to convince the 6-member Board of Natural Resources to ignore the will of the public and vote to allow commercial net pens back in Puget Sound.

 
 

1. TESTIFY AT THE IN-PERSON PUBLIC MEETING IN OLYMPIA

Public Hearing, Thursday, November 7, 2024, 5 – 7PM
  Room 172 in the Natural Resources Building
 1111 Washington St SE
 Olympia, WA 98504
(There is no virtual option)

OSOS facilitator Wild Fish Conservancy will be attending. If you plan to attend and would like more information, please email us at info@wildfishconservancy.org or call Emma Helverson at 484-788-1174.