COUNTDOWN TO NOVEMBER 10 WHEN ALL PUGET SOUND NET PEN LEASES EXPIRE

On November 10th, every lease that authorizes commercial net pens to operate in Puget Sound will have expired. Without new leases, Washington's sole net pen operator, Cooke Aquaculture, will be required to pack up and remove their net pens from Puget Sound, effectively eliminating this industry in Washington. The expiration of these leases offers Washington a once-in-a-decade opportunity to take bold action to protect Puget Sound and join governments around the world in abandoning this dangerous and antiquated industry.

Further elevating the urgency and importance of this exact moment is that after four years and countless appeals, every single lawsuit Cooke Aquaculture has waged against the state has been dismissed or is quickly coming to a close. The conclusion of this litigation eliminates all remaining legal leverage Cooke could wield in a last-ditch effort to pressure the state into granting the company new leases that would secure their future in our public waters for the next decade or longer. 

It is your unwavering dedication and support that made it possible to reach this critical moment and with only days left, we're calling on you to help finish this fight for the health of Puget Sound.

HILARY FRANZ'S MONUMENTAL DECISION

With the clock counting down to November 10th when every net pen lease in Washington will have expired, the future of the commercial net pen industry and the health of Puget Sound lies solely in the hands of Washington's Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz. In the coming days, Commissioner Franz will need to make a monumental decision whether to give in to pressure from Cooke Aquaculture to issue new 12-year leases for net pen aquaculture or calls from the public to restore Puget Sound for the benefit and use of all.

Commissioner Franz has a strong record when it comes to holding the net pen industry accountable. She led the investigation finding Cooke at fault for the catastrophic Cypress Island net pen collapse, terminated half of the company's leases following that event, and refused to concede or compromise the public's natural resources when defending Washington from four years of Cooke's meritless lawsuits.

Photo by Mike Ritter under license CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

By statute, Commissioner Franz is required to make a decision that is in the best interest of the public. Earlier this year, we delivered a nearly 200-page Taking Back Our Sound petition on behalf of nearly 10,000 individuals and over 100 businesses and organizations all calling on Commission Franz to restore Puget Sound for the public’s benefit and use by all. Through emails and letters, Commissioner Franz heard directly from individuals, groups, and elected officials throughout the northwest and even international advocates urging the importance of Washington's decision for the future of this industry in communities worldwide.

These efforts are just one example of the countless milestones and accomplishments we've celebrated and made possible together since we launched the Our Sound, Our Salmon campaign five years ago to protect wild salmon, killer whales, and the health of Puget Sound from this dangerous industry. All of these efforts will now culminate in Commissioner Franz's pivotal decision.

But this fight isn't over and Cooke Aquaculture is a billion-dollar corporation actively fighting tooth and nail to continue using our public waters to profit at the expense of the health of Puget Sound. If we don't speak out now, we risk the threat of another decade of chronic pollution, viral outbreaks, and massive escape events. With only days until Cooke's leases are expired, this is your last chance to fight for the future health of Puget Sound.

Don't wait, take action today by urging Commissioner Franz to make the right decision for wild salmon, orca, tribal treaty rights, and the health of Puget Sound.

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Working Together to Protect Puget Sound

For over two decades, Wild Fish Conservancy has been watchdogging the industry, advancing our region's scientific understanding of the risks net pens pose, and working with colleagues around the world to bring an end to this practice in public waters. 

Your support makes it possible for us to stand up and react quickly to the commercial net pen aquaculture industry as we work to end this practice in Puget Sound and protect our public waters for benefit of all.

WE DID IT!

Washington Agencies Agree to Provide Additional Time for Public to Comment on Important Commercial Net Pen Management Plan

Earlier this week, we shared the alarming news that Washington state agencies failed to provide the public a fair and adequate opportunity to weigh in on the draft Guidance for Commercial Marine Net Pen Aquaculture, a vitally important and far-reaching plan that will guide how local and state governments manage commercial net pens in Washington's public waters.

Today, after members of the Our Sound, Our Salmon coalition and others called out Washington agencies for failing to provide adequate time and notice of this opportunity to comment, Washington state agencies agreed to extend the comment period deadline from June 21st to August 5th.

This week's efforts and success highlight the important role the Our Sound, Our Salmon coalition continues to play in watchdogging this industry, as we aggressively move forward our campaigns and legal strategies to permanently remove this industry from Puget Sound.

Thank you to everyone who submitted an extension request and helped draw attention from all levels of government to the fundamentally broken process undermining this public review.

The additional 48-days provided by this extension will ensure organizations like Wild Fish Conservancy and other members of the public have time to adequately review the draft guidance and meet the true intent of public review— providing thorough and detailed comments that are informative to agency officials and ensure government decision-making is transparent, evidence-driven, and equitable.

In the coming weeks, we will be sure to share a summary of our primary recommendations to serve as a guide and reference as you develop your own comments on this detailed and technically complex plan. Information on this public comment period is available on the Department of Ecology's website.

Thanks again to everyone who helped to hold our state agencies accountable for correcting this broken public process and ensuring the public has a fair and adequate opportunity to comment on how commercial net pens in Washingotn are managed.

URGENT ACTION ALERT

Submit a Request to Extend the Public Comment Period on Important Commercial Net Pen Management Plan

If you believe the public deserves adequate time and notice to provide input on how commercial net pens operating in public waters are managed, take the important action below today!

Right now, Washington state agencies responsible for regulating the commercial net pen aquaculture industry are holding a public comment period on the draft State Guidance for Commercial Marine Net Pen Aquaculture, a long-lasting and far-reaching plan that will guide how commercial net pens are managed by Washington local and state government officials.

This plan has been in development by the Departments of Ecology, Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resources, and Agriculture since 2015, yet the public has only been provided 21-days to review, digest, and provide informed comments on over 100 pages of complex and technical information.

To make matters worse, state agencies have provided little to no public notification of this opportunity so many organizations, elected officials, local businesses, and members of the public with serious concerns over how this industry is managed in Washington state, remain largely unaware of this important opportunity with only six days left to provide input.

In 2019, during the comment period reviewing Cooke Aquaculture’s new steelhead marine net pen proposal, agencies reported unprecedented public participation with over 3,500 unique comments. In this case, agency officials extended the comment period on two separate occasions to ensure the public had adequate opportunity to comment. The draft plan currently being reviewed is more detailed and larger in scope, clearly demonstrating the need for the agencies to extend the current comment period.

HERE’S WHAT TO DO:

SEND AN EMAIL TO: casey.dennehy@ecy.wa.gov, Casey Dennehy

INCLUDE IN YOUR EMAIL:

• a request for a 90-day extension of the current public comment period on the draft State Guidance for Commercial Marine Net Pen Aquaculture

EXAMPLE:

Casey,

I am writing to request a 90-day extension of the current public comment period on the draft State Guidance for Commercial Marine Net Pen Aquaculture. I only learned about this opportunity to comment today and need more time to review this 100 plus page document and make informed comments.

[Optional: Include a personal reason or concerns for your interest in submitting comments on the management of commercial net pen aquaculture]

Thank you,

[Your Name]

QUESTIONS? REACH OUT!
info@wildfishconservancy.org or call Emma Helverson at 484-788-1174