Washington state officials now 'scouting' sites for land-based salmon farming with Canadian contractor

Washington state officials are moving ahead with a cooperative effort to identify a location for Canadian land-based salmon farming group Sustainable Blue to establish a project.

The state, which last year banned all netpen salmon farming, is "scouting potential locations" with the company "to see what sites could be permittable and work for the firm," Joe Smillie, a spokesman for Washington State's Department of Natural Resources (DNR), told IntraFish.

Last month, DNR signed a letter of intent with Sustainable Blue to explore the development of land-based aquaculture in the state.