Washington state cancels salmon farm lease after fish escape

SEATTLE (AP) – Washington state officials have canceled the lease of a salmon farm where more than 160,000 adult Atlantic salmon escaped into the Puget Sound last summer.

The Seattle Times reports in a story on Sunday that Public Lands State Commissioner Hilary Franz says the decision is final with no room for negotiation.

Franz says the Washington Department of Natural Resources will work with Cooke Aquaculture Pacific and other state agencies to complete an orderly shutdown and removal of the farm.

The farm currently holds about 700,000 Atlantic salmon.

Franz says the farm is outside the boundaries of its lease and causing a navigation hazard.

Cooke Aquaculture Pacific spokesman Joel Richardson says the company learned of the lease termination on Friday and is evaluating the decision.

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Information from: The Seattle Times, http://www.seattletimes.com