MEDIA ADVISORY FOR:
Tuesday, August 13, 2002
CONTACT: Anne Mosness,
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy
360-671-6478, cell 360-224-4100
Whatcom County Council to Vote on Salmon Farming in Washington Waters
Bellingham -- The Whatcom County Council has scheduled a vote at 7 PM, August 13, 2002, on
a precedent setting resolution opposing the rearing of Atlantic salmon in local waters, as well as
the waters of the Pacific Northwest. The council vote is scheduled for tonight’s regular council
meeting at the Whatcom County Courthouse, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham Washington.
The resolution before the Council would specifically oppose the rearing of non-native Atlantic
salmon, thousands of which have escaped their pens and been found in streams throughout the
Pacific Northwest, BC and as far away as Alaska's Copper River and Bering Sea. According to
biologists, these escaped non-native Atlantic salmon threaten native Pacific wild salmon, many
stocks of which are already endangered by habitat degradation. More than 600,000 Atlantic
salmon were reported escaping from Washington fish farms between 1996 and 1999.
Anne Mosness, of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), brought the initial
resolution to the council in May. According to Mosness, "Crowded feedlot operations raising
non-native Atlantic salmon are polluting our waters and jeopardize wild salmon populations.
These corporate fish farms are also severely undercutting our local fishing jobs and coastal
communities."
While Washington's fish farm industry is not large in comparison to the industry in British
Columbia, there is a move to allow the industry more self regulation as well as to open up
offshore waters to private aquaculture businesses. The industry is working to get approval from
the National Marine Fisheries Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and
Washington SeaGrant to develop private venture fish farms that could operate anywhere from
three to two hundred miles offshore.
The Whatcom County Council weighed scientific evidence and received testimony from
representatives of Washington's Department of Fish and Wildlife and Department of Ecology,
Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association, Marine Resources Advisory Committee, and
concerned citizens. It is widely expected that the Council will vote in favor of the resolution on
Tuesday, demonstrating the need for more oversight and regulation of the aquaculture industry.
Supporters of the resolution are preparing to take similar proposals to other planning and
governing councils in the region.
Bellingham resident Anne Mosness of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy added, "So
many folks are working hard to restore Pacific salmon to harvestable abundance. Our native
wild salmon are an essential part of the Northwest ecosystem - from ocean to forests – in
addition, they provide us with healthy food and traditional fishing jobs. Opposing fish farms is
an essential step in saving wild salmon in the Pacific Northwest."
The following is the language of the resolution being considered today:
A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING A MORATORIUM ON COMMERCIAL
MARINE SALMON NET PENS AND IN SUPPORT OF WILD SALMON FISHERIES
WHEREAS, residents of Whatcom County have made significant sacrifices and forgone harvest
opportunity and restrictions on land and water use; and
WHEREAS, residents have volunteered considerable time, money, and resources to the
restoration of native salmon runs; and
WHEREAS, various economic sectors in Whatcom County such as the recreational and tourism
businesses, fishing industry, and fisheries depend on healthy wild fish populations; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Pollution Control Hearings Board has determined that
escapement of introduced Atlantic salmon are a serious biological pollutant under the Federal
Clean Water Act and the State's Water Pollution Control Act, Chapter 90.48, RCW; and
WHEREAS, farmed salmon pose a threat to wild salmon stocks through the use of antibiotics to
treat net pens, causing an increase of antibiotic resistant bacteria in a marine environment; and
WHEREAS, scientific evidence indicates marine net pens degrade the marine environment
through impacts to water quality, sediment quality, and the health of benthic and pelagic
organisms; and
WHEREAS, scientific studies have shown that Atlantic salmon are capable of competing with
native fish species for increasingly scarce quality habitat; and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife reports that over 500 000
Atlantic salmon have escaped from net pens into Washington State's waters in the last decade
and even larger numbers of Atlantic salmon have escaped into British Columbia's waters; and
WHEREAS, recent scientific evidence documents the presence of Atlantic salmon in 78 rivers
and streams in British Columbia, and spawning populations have been documented in three
Vancouver Island rivers; and
WHEREAS, the goals of federal, state, and local salmon recovery efforts are jeopardized by the
negative impacts of commercial marine salmon net pens; and
WHEREAS, currently there are no commercial marine salmon net pens operating in Whatcom
County and precautionary approaches to marine habitat protection are in the county's best
interest;
WHEREAS, Atlantic salmon have been observed in the Nooksack River.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Whatcom County Council opposes the
establishment of commercial marine salmon net pens in Whatcom County waters and the waters
of the Pacific Northwest.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that for purposes of this resolution
commercial is defined as "the rearing of fish for profit."
APPROVED this ___ day of _, 2002.