Comment to Ecology | draft Guidance for Marine Net Pen Aquaculture in Washington State | Our Sound, Our Salmon Coalition

Orca Conservancy is a proud member of the Our Sound, Our Salmon Coalition. The attached comments share our serious concerns over the poor public and technical process behind the development of the draft Guidance for Marine Net Pen Aquaculture in Washington State.

While it has been presented as a guide for local governments to use in managing this industry, it focuses extensively on the siting of new net pen facilities and reads more like a roadmap for net pen operators interested in expanding in Puget Sound. Of greatest concern is the fundamental failure to identify and use best available science to inform the best practices and risks described in the plan. For example, research conducted in Puget Sound and British Columbia over the past decade is absent while non peer-reviewed information from pro-aquaculture websites is included.