OLYMPIA, Wash. – A fish-farming company is getting the boot from Washington state waters.
KOMO reports the Department of Natural Resources will not renew the lease for the Canada-based company that accidentally released over 260,000 Atlantic salmon into the waters off of Cypress Island back in 2017.
Cooke Aquaculture has until December 14th to start deconstructing their equipment.
Their remaining farms are near Bainbridge Island and in Skagit Bay.
In a letter to the company, the DNR says Cooke has a history of not complying with provisions in their contracts.
Their fish farm near Port Angeles was also shut down in 2017, after inspectors found that farm wasn’t properly maintained and was outside the lease’s boundaries.