Forever Is A Long Time

I’m not particularly good at math. Perhaps that’s why I became a journalist.

On Nov. 18, Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz issued an?executive order ?prohibiting net-pen finfish farming in Washington state waters. It represents the demise of Puget Sound’s wild salmon and orca populations, she said in so many words at a?press conference . But what Franz is falsely portraying as big and bad to the donors and voters she’s wooing in a potential bid for the governor’s seat is not so big and bad after all. The 11 acres of finfish farms in question represent 0.0017 percent of Puget Sound and 0.0004 percent of all leasable state lands. Even I can do that math.

Just 57 days ago, Cooke Aquaculture proudly hosted a tour of its Hope Island steelhead trout farm for a handful of?GOAL 2022 ?delegates (pictured below). In 14 days, the family-owned company must, by executive order, dismantle its Hope Island and Rich Passage farms and slaughter 332,000 juvenile fish. It’s heartbreaking news for the 34 employees of Cooke Aquaculture Pacific.

Perhaps we’re?on thinner ice than we think. Increasingly, it feels like we’re one draconian executive order or tax hike away from tragedy. It doesn’t feel like aquaculture will?grow at the rate necessary to meet demand for seafood by 2030 .

Eleven months ago, I launched a weekly email commentary to share words of inspiration from the seafood professionals we profile in our magazine, on our podcast and at our event. Today, my commentary is a call to action.?The Global Seafood Alliance has thrown its support behind an?appeal for an independent review ?of the sudden decision?to end net-pen finfish farming in Washington state waters , perhaps forever, without any scientific or legal basis. I encourage more organizations, aquaculture?and?wild-capture fisheries, to do the same. Because forever is a long time.