'We are returning our waters to wild fish': Washington State rejects Cooke's application to renew trout farming licenses

The Washington State Department of Natural Resources on Monday told Cooke Aquaculture it would not renew licenses for the company's remaining steelhead farms, ending the Canadian seafood giant's netpen farming operations in the state.

In two letters sent to Cooke on Monday, DNR Aquatic Resources Division Manager Thomas Gorman said the Canadian company's requests to renew the licenses for its Rich Passage and Hope Island farming sites were rejected.

[Download the letters here and here (pdf)]

In justifying its decision, the agency cited a range of violations Cooke made over the past several years.