Farm-raised Atlantic salmon — already
discovered in 12 Puget Sound river systems — have infiltrated
another Northwestern stream. In July, Washington Department of Fish
and Wildlife employees spotted 250 juveniles in Scatter Creek, near
Olympia.
John Kerwin, a state hatchery official, says the
fish came from a Cypress Island Inc. hatchery that produces salmon
smolts for its eight Puget Sound fish farms. The salmon likely
escaped through the hatchery’s pollution-abatement ponds, he
says.
But hatchery manager Dan Rotter says vandals may
have set the fish free to sully the company’s reputation.
“There’s a network of anti-aquaculture people who are
bent on seeing our industry go by the wayside,” he
says.
In fact, Rotter says he apprehended “an
anti-industry alien” in the hatchery’s
pollution-abatement ponds early in August. But this was no
eco-saboteur — it was Canadian biologist John Volpe. Volpe is
one of the only scientists taking a hands-on approach to studying
the spread of farmed salmon. With his snorkel and wet suit, he has
discovered Atlantic salmon reproducing in three rivers on Vancouver
Island.
To date, no one has proven that Atlantic salmon
are colonizing — or establishing self-perpetuating
populations — in Northwestern rivers, but Volpe says
that’s beside the point. “Atlantic salmon are
maintaining a persistent presence in the natural
environment,” whether through reproduction or continual
replacement by more escapees, he says. Atlantic salmon pose
problems for struggling native salmon, competing for food and
habitat and potentially mating with natives, watering down the gene
pool.
The state plans to remove as many Atlantic salmon as
possible from Scatter Creek, and Cypress Island will pay the
tab.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Hatchery runaways add to concerns about fish farms.
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