December 6, 2017 – Times Colonist

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Washington state senator pushes fish-farm ban, urges same in B.C.
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image credit: KURT BEARDSLEE
A Washington state senator is introducing legislation to ban open-net pen fish farms and says British Columbia should do the same.

Democratic Sen. Kevin Ranker represents Orcas Islands. More than 100,000 Atlantic salmon escaped from a farm in his district in July.

Ranker said his bill would ban any new leases for net-pen aquaculture of invasive species. If it passes, fish farms would be out of Washington waters by 2025, with existing leases set to expire in the next seven years.

The bill would provide job training for displaced fish-farm workers and expedite an update on operations guidelines for the remaining farms’ term, since there hasn’t been such an update in more than 20 years.

But he said without B.C.’s co-operation, the impact on the Salish Sea will be limited…..

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