By Ken Stern 

Hope Island fish pen structures remain

 

April 26, 2023



Cooke Aquaculture Pacific, LLC did not meet the state of Washington 's April 14 deadline to remove its Hope Island fish net pens from Skagit Bay. After the state Department of Natural Resources ended the company’s leases in November, it faced a December deadline to pull all its infrastructure.

In January Thurston County Superior Court extended until April fish harvesting and removal of equipment from the firm’s Hope Island and Bainbridge Island fish farms, granting a preliminary injunction against the DNR.

In a statement then, Cooke called the December deadline “arbitrary” and “impossible to meet without exposing Cooke employees to dangerous winter working conditions, increasing perceived environmental risks and causing significant financial harm.”

The company was unable to comply. Some support structures and walkways were visible from shore April 21.

By January 2023 the fish had been removed, DNR Communications Manager Joe Smillie told the Weekly News. He said the company needs SEPA permits from Skagit County before it can remove the framing.

The lease extension has expired. Starting April 15 Cooke was in unauthorized use and occupancy, Smillie said, with the rent 160% of normal.

Cooke’s Hope Island lease expired in March 2022 and was in month-to-month holdover status through November.

Questions sent to Cooke staff went unanswered by press time.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/04/2024 03:22