The Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has sent a letter to Cooke Inc. CEO Glenn Cooke announcing its intent to sue the company over alleged Clean Water Act violations at its salmon farms in the U.S. state of Maine.
In the letter, CLF said it plans to initiate the action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine no earlier than 60 days from the postmark of its letter, dated 14 November. CLF claims Cooke’s aquaculture operations in Maine have violated conditions of its Maine Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits and the Federal Clean Water Act.
“These enormous salmon cages are like sewage pipes to the marine environment,” CLF Clean Air and Water Program Vice President Heather Govern said in a release. “Their solid waste smothers plants and ocean life while disease outbreaks and sea lice threaten nearby endangered wild salmon. We need to enforce our federal laws to protect Maine’s bays and communities.”
Cooke responded immediately to the allegations, stating CLF’s claims that the company has violated the Clean Water Act and its permits are “false, misleading, and lack any substantiating evidence.”
“Cooke is in full compliance with the laws set forth by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, the Maine Department of Marine Resources and its operating permits,” the company said. “Cooke’s Maine Atlantic salmon farms are routinely inspected by state regulators and subject to regular monitoring reports. These laws are designed to protect Maine waters as well as Maine’s heritage fisheries.”
The company said its salmon farms in Maine are routinely audited and certified by third-party sustainability organizations, including the Global Seafood Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices third-party certification program.
“As part of this independent, voluntary program, all of Cooke’s Maine salmon aquaculture farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills are audited against standards for environmental responsibility, social accountability, animal health and welfare, and food safety,” the company said. “To attain certification, facilities must be fully compliant with all clauses in the standards. Additionally, Atlantic salmon farmed in Maine is rated as a ‘good alternative’ by the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program.”
The CLF lawsuit is targeting 13 different Cooke sites: three sites near Swans Island, three sites near Eastern Bay, four sites in Machias Bay, and three sites in Cobscook Bay. The NGO claims the farms “dump several types of pollution into the surrounding waters” such as fish feces, “disease and sea lice,” escaped fish, and trash.
The letter specifically points to one instance where it claims Cooke ...
