SEATTLE (AP) — Washington state officials have canceled an Atlantic salmon farm lease belonging to a company that also operates another salmon farm where more than 160,000 adult fish escaped into the Puget Sound last summer.
The Seattle Times reports in a story on Sunday that Public Lands State Commissioner Hilary Franz says the decision is final with no room for negotiation.
Franz says the Washington Department of Natural Resources will work with Cooke Aquaculture Pacific and other state agencies to complete an orderly shutdown and removal of the farm in Port Angeles.
Cooke Aquaculture Pacific spokesman Joel Richardson says the company learned of the lease termination on Friday and is evaluating the decision.
The company also operates a fish farm at Cypress Island where the escape occurred in August.