Cooke Aquaculture Pacific is applying to move its Port Angeles-East Aquaculture site in Port Angeles, Washington, U.S.A., to a new location, in response to a massive U.S. Navy Pier Project that is under construction.
The USD 25.6 million (EUR 24.1 million) Navy Pier Project includes a 400-foot exclusion zone that will cover 20 percent of the farm’s lease area and net pens.
“The project will have a negative impact on the farm, on fish health and on the health and safety of our people,” Nell Halse, vice president of communications for Cooke, told SeafoodSource. “Remaining at the existing site at current scale is not feasible, due to risks associated with nearby Navy operations. We need a safe location for this farm.”
The Port Angeles Atlantic salmon farm was recently certified ‘Best Aquaculture Practices’ by a third-party auditor for demonstrating sustainable practices. The new farm, which will cost around USD 9 million (EUR 8.5 million) to build, will two miles east of the harbor mouth, off Green Point, about four miles away from the current location.
The move would also protect “good, long-term jobs in sustainable farming,” Halse said, noting that the average employee at the farm has been with Cooke with for more than 13 years.
“Our farming operations generate significant economic and employment for the region,” Halse said.
The new location will be more exposed and offers good water flow, Halse said.
“So, we plan to use technology that is used in high-energy farms in the Atlantic, where the seas are considerably higher than they are in that portion of the strait,” Halse said. “The farm would be located far enough out in the strait so that it would only be a line on the horizon from the bluffs, but not in the shipping lanes. The new location is not in an identified sensitive aquatic habitat and meets navigational guidelines set by the Port Angeles Coast Guard.”
To obtain permission for the site, Cooke must submit 11 permits, including from Clallam County, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the state departments of Ecology and Fish and Wildlife.
“As the documents are being reviewed by the agencies, we continue to maintain contact with and update community stakeholders,” Halse said.
