Cooke Aquaculture USA is sued over salmon-farming practices in Maine

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3 weeks ago
cooke-aquaculture-usa-is-sued-over-salmon-farming-practices-in-maineCooke Aquaculture USA is sued over salmon-farming practices in Maine

A conservation group is suing Cooke Aquaculture USA for alleged ocean pollution from its salmon-farming sites along the Maine coast.

Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation filed a lawsuit in the District Court of Maine against the company, part of Saint John-based Cooke Inc.’s wordwide operations.

The 44-page lawsuit focuses on 13 active cage sites for salmon farming in the ocean just off the Maine coast. The sites consist of net pens anchored to the sea floor and to floatation devices on the ocean’s surface. They hover in the water and hold the salmon as they grow. 

The lawsuit claims that Cooke’s net pens are violating the U.S. Clean Water Act by allowing salmon feces, excess food and carcasses to fall to the sea floor. 

“Those salmon are stacked into cages,” said Heather Govern, vice-president of the clean air and water program at the foundation.

“And we’re really concerned about the pollution that is coming from those cages, falls to the sea floor, creates a toxic sediment, which then really kills the food source for lobster and bottom-feeding fish.”

Cooke’s net-pen sites are near Swans Island, which is near the famed Acadia National Park, Beals Island, Machias Bay, and Cobscook Bay on the U.S.-Canada border. 

“Within each lease area, Cooke operates between six and 30 cages,” the lawsuit said. 

Cooke denies all allegations

Steven Hedlund, a Cooke Aquaculture USA spokesperson, did not respond to several interview requests but denied all allegations in a statement posted on Cooke’s website in November when the suit was first threatened by the conservation group.

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This story was brought to Nouzie by RSS. The original post can be found on https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/cooke-aquaculture-sued-salmon-farming-maine-1.7433910?cmp=rss