A First Nation near Bellingham, Wash., has declared a state of emergency after thousands of Atlantic salmon escaped a U.S. fish farm in the San Juan Islands near Victoria, B.C.
Officials blame the failure of a pen near Washington's Cypress Island on high tides caused by the eclipse, but that is being questioned. Fishing boats are scrambling to catch as many as possible.
A fish farm was destroyed after the Atlantic salmon escape, with Cooke Aquaculture calling it a “salvage operation.” Scientists debunked the statement from Cooke that “exceptionally high tides and currents coinciding with this week’s solar eclipse” caused the damage.
Local Indigenous community says the invasive species could devastate fishing industry in the area
Did Monday's eclipse play a role in a huge Atlantic salmon spill from a fish farm in the San Juans? The company says yes. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is urging the public to catch as many of the fish as possible, with no limit on size or number. The fish are about 10 pounds each. No one will know how many escaped until harvesting is completed.
Thousands of farmed Atlantic salmon were accidentally released into the waters between Anacortes and the San Juan Islands, and officials are asking people to catch as many as possible. Tribal fishers, concerned about native salmon populations, call the accident “a devastation.”
There were 305,000, 10 lb Atlantic salmon when the pen at the fish farm in the San Juan Islands burst open on Saturday.
It's open season on Atlantic salmon as the public is urged to help mop up a salmon spill from an imploded net pen holding 305,000 fish at a Cooke Aquaculture fish farm near Cypress Island.
There could be a major ecological impact to the coastal waters stretching from British Columbia to Oregon after an Atlantic salmon farm near the San Juan Islands, just east of Victoria, accidentally spilled thousands of live fish into local waters.
Thousands of Atlantic salmon have escaped into Pacific waters east of Victoria after a net pen was damaged. The company is blaming high tides, but the tides weren't unusual.
“The exact reasons why the return fell at the lower end of the forecast range are unknown at this time, but poorer than average marine survival is a leading candidate.”
Fisheries Minister Gail Shea is crowing about the opportunities with the 2010 return of sockeye to the Fraser river, calling it a banner year for Fraser River sockeye salmon. This year's return is currently set at just over 25 million fish, one of the highest returns in the last hundred years. Several fishery openings for Fraser River sockeye have already occurred in 2010 and more are planned, she said.
Some B.C.-farmed salmon is reaching store shelves with a parasite that can liquefy the fish’s flesh into an unappetizing goop.
Voracious predator could be big threat to native aquatic populations
The fish measured 56 inches in circumference and weighed 800 lbs. Its age is not known, but it could be more than 100 years old, given its size. The monster sturgeon had never been tagged before, so this may have been the first time it was caught.
The southern resident killer whales who returned to their traditional summer feeding grounds in the Salish Sea on Tuesday and Wednesday after a long absence have apparently left again, and although most of the members of J-, K- and L-Pods appeared to be healthy, at least one may be close to starvation.
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