A meeting on sustainable fishing in Seattle could inspire greater protections for Washington state’s waters in Olympia. The State Innovation Exchange held the “Sustainable Aquaculture and Working Waterfronts” convention with lawmakers from 13 states.
Emma Newton, senior associate with agriculture and food systems program for the State Innovation Exchange, said big corporations dominate agriculture and farming, but large-scale, industrial fish farming isn’t in the United States – yet.
“However, we are seeing increased interest in putting these large-scale, essentially factory farms of the ocean in our waters, and they’re a direct threat to our ocean ecosystems, our local fishers and the native fish populations,” she said.
Newton added the convention focused on how policymakers can protect sustainable and local fishing economies and tribal food sovereignty.
Rep. Mia Gregerson, D-SeaTac, attended the convention and said the state banned some fish farming practices after tens of thousands of non-native Atlantic salmon escaped a fish pen in 2017. Gregerson added the state needs to go further to protect the region from industrial fish farming.
“We’re only able to control the policy for about three miles off the shore, and so it’s going to be really important then, right, to make sure that we have a state coastal zone management plan that prohibits the same type of farming beyond just state waters,” she said.
Newton added events like the one in Seattle are important because policymakers are able to connect with communities and the people working on these issues, making them more effective in their decision making.
“They’re able to know that they don’t have to go to the large corporations or the lobbyists for the information they need. They can go directly to the community. They’re building relationships that circumnavigate the traditional way that policy is being made,” Newton said.
Featured photo: A 2018 law in Washington state phased out fish pen farming of non-native species. (cascoly2/Adobe Stock)
