Stórtíðindi frá Bandaríkjunum! Washingtonríki hefur bannað sjókvíaeldi á Atlantshafslaxi. Ástæðan er ekki síst verndun staðbundinna villtra laxastofna.
Skv. frétt Seattle Times:
„The economic, cultural, and recreational resources of these incredible waters will no longer be jeopardized by the negligent actions of this industry,“ sagði Kevin Ranker, fyrsti flutningsmaður tillögunnar um bannið á ríkisþinginu.
„Atlantic salmon net-pen farming will be phased out in Washington by 2025 under legislation passed by the state Senate on Friday after a tough floor fight and fancy parliamentary footwork.
With at least six lobbyists in a last-minute campaign, Cooke Aquaculture Pacific worked hard until the last vote Friday to keep its Atlantic salmon net-pen industry alive in Washington. …
The legislation to phase out Atlantic salmon net-pen farming was the result of an escape last August from Cooke Aquaculture Pacific’s Atlantic salmon farm at Cypress Island, where as many as 263,000 fish were released into the Salish Sea. The incident ignited controversy over the industry.
Cooke initially told the public and its regulators the incident was just a small release of fish, and primarily a business loss for the company, caused by unusually high tides coincident with the solar eclipse the same week. Three state agencies in a four-month investigation found the escape actually was due solely to Cooke’s negligence, and that the company had misled the public about the size and cause of the escape.“
