Description

On August 19, 2017, a net pen at a salmon farm near Cypress Island, Washington, broke, accidentally releasing hundreds of thousands of non-native Atlantic salmon into the Pacific Ocean. The fish farm was run by Cooke Aquaculture Pacific, LLC. According to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, inadequate cleaning was likely the primary cause for the pen break; the nets were supporting more than six times their own weight in biofouling. Coastal tribes were hired to fish the escaped salmon. Atlantic salmon farming was later banned in Washington state in reaction to the incident.