Thursday, March 28, 2024

Hundreds of thousands of Atlantic Salmon have escaped from a fish farm in the San Juan Islands

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Up to 305,000 Atlantic salmon escaped from a fish farm on Saturday afternoon and the spill could have devastating effects on local ecosystems.

Cooke Aquaculture, the owners of the farm, haven’t determined the exact number of escaped fish. However, experts are already predicting have widespread negative ecological repercussions.

Marine Biologist Alexandra Morton called such an introduction of invasive species an “environmental disaster” in an interview with CFAX.

She said that the massive addition of fish could decrease the populations of local species through predation, or competition for food, but the most pressing threat might be the spread of disease.

“In British Columbia, over 80% of the Atlantic salmon are infected with a blood virus called piscine reovirus,” said Morton. “Are these fish infected with that? What do they have?”

Fishers Encouraged to Catch Atlantic Salmon

Fishers from the Lummi tribe looking for Chinook salmon pulled up the Atlantic variety instead on Sunday and Monday, prompting officials send out notices.

Washington State’s Department of Fish and Wildlife has urged the public to catch as many Atlantic Salmon as possible.

Commercial Fishers have also been scrambling to catch the escapees.

Solar Eclipse Blamed, But Something Seems Fishy

Fish Farm Spill
Photo by Megan Farmer KUOW.org

Cooke Aquaculture, the farm owner, said that the salmon escaped through a rip in a net on Saturday. They blamed the damage on high tides linked to the solar eclipse.

However, a report from KUOW.org, a National Public Radio affiliate in Seattle, suggests that the official explanation might not hold water.

According to the KUOW report, tides near the Cypress Island fish farm were not unusually high on Saturday.

In fact, when compared to the predicted 7.9-foot tide predicted around the time of the spill, tide tables show higher tides every month this year.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration tidal-gauge data also showed that the high tide was actually 3 inches below its forecasted height on Saturday afternoon.

 

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Alistair Ogden
Former staff writer at Victoria Buzz.

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