An introductory meeting was enough for a little-known Canadian group with links to the founder of outdoor clothing retailer Patagonia to initiate a partnership giving it first crack at revolutionizing the salmon farming industry in the US state of Washington.

Nova Scotia-based Sustainable Blue left that meeting, in January 2023, with agreement to draft a Letter of Intent (LOI) to develop the first land-based salmon farm in the state, according to multiple emails and documents obtained by IntraFish.

Just three months later, Washington State Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz – a key decision-maker on aquaculture policy in the state, and a participant in that meeting – announced