An environmental advocacy organization has filed notice of its intent to sue Cooke Aquaculture for Clean Water Act violations at its salmon sites in Maine, including those in Cobscook Bay and Machias Bay, while the company strongly denies the allegations. Over the past 10 years, though, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has issued 26 warnings and notices to Cooke and reached one consent agreement that imposed a fine for violations of its Maine Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (MEPDES) permit for net-pen aquaculture.
      On November 14, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) notified Cooke, the world's largest private family owned seafood company with operations in 14 countries, of its intent to sue within 60 days for violations at 13 active sites in Maine where the company grows millions of salmon in 150 cages.
      "These enormous salmon cages are like sewage pipes to the marine environment," says Heather Govern, vice president for CLF's Clean Air and Water Program, in a release. "Their solid waste smothers plants and ocean life while disease outbreaks and sea lice threaten nearby endangered wild salmon. We need to enforce our federal laws to protect Maine's bays and communities."
      The Conservation Law Foundation alleges that salmon confined to net pens suffer from disease and parasites like sea lice at an unnaturally high rate. "These diseases and parasites can spread from the cages to passing wild fish," the organization states in a release. "In addition, Cooke's cages periodically develop holes from exposure to weather and predators like seals, which allow caged salmon to escape. When cage raised salmon breed with wild salmon, the genetic fitness of the wild salmon population is diminished."
      The notice from CLF states that Cooke's permit does not allow the discharge of escaped fish, sea lice, disease or trash, which CLF alleges continues to occur at the salmon pen sites. The notice states that Cooke's net pen sites are discharging effluent in violation of the permit's sulfide limitation and that fish fecal matter, uneaten fish food and dead fish pile up on the seafloor at some sites, with the sediment killing the food source for lobsters and bottom-eating fish. As for fish escapes, the notice points to the 50,000 salmon that escaped from the Cross Island sites in Machias Bay in May 2023, following a seal attack.
      "New evidence documenting Cooke's chronic violations further illustrates Cooke's ongoing pattern of disregard for the laws of this state," says Dwayne Shaw, executive director of the Downeast Salmon Federation, in a release. "If Cooke wants to operate in Maine, they should start playing by the rules or be hit with larger fines that finally get their attention."
      Crystal Canney, executive director of Protect Maine's Fishing Heritage Foundation, states, "Cooke Aquaculture has been the subject of legal action around the world. As stated in the notice of intent to file against Cooke's Maine operation, Cooke continues to violate regulations and permit conditions meant to protect the environment. Neither the Department of Marine Resources nor the Department of Environmental Protection has taken effective enforcement steps to prevent or remedy these violations."
      Cooke Aquaculture, though, states in a release that the allegations "are false, misleading and lack any substantiating evidence." The company says it is in full compliance with the laws set forth by the Maine DEP, the Maine Department of Marine Resources and its operating permits. "Cooke's Maine Atlantic salmon farms are routinely inspected by state regulators and subject to regular monitoring reports. These laws are designed to protect Maine waters as well as Maine's heritage fisheries," states the release, issued by Steven Hedlund, director of public affairs for Cooke Aquaculture USA.
      The release points out that the company's salmon farms are also routinely audited and certified by third party sustainability organizations. Cooke was one of the early adopters of the Global Seafood Alliance's Best Aquaculture Practices third party certification program. As part of this independent, voluntary program, all of Cooke's Maine salmon aquaculture farms, hatcheries, processing plants and feed mills are audited against standards for environmental responsibility, social accountability, animal health and welfare and food safety. Additionally, Atlantic salmon farmed in Maine is rated as a "good alternative" by the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program.
      In the release, Hedlund notes that finfish aquaculture has coexisted with fisheries, such as lobstering, in Maine waters for more than 40 years. "Lobster landings are not negatively affected by Atlantic salmon farms," the release states. "In fact, lobster gear is set alongside and within aquaculture lease boundaries."
      Cooke also points out that aquaculture is a major source of employment for residents of Downeast Maine. The company employs 230 people throughout the state and celebrated its 20th anniversary of aquaculture operations in Maine this year.
      The company, though, has violated its MEPDES license conditions at times, with the DEP having issued to Cooke facilities six letters of warning, 20 notices of violations and one administrative consent agreement over the past 10 years, according to David Madore, deputy commissioner of the DEP. Many of those violations involve failure to meet the DEP's reporting requirements or exceeding the maximum number of fish per pen. The consent agreement issued in September 2019 imposed a monetary penalty of $156,213.
      The Conservation Law Foundation believes that, to comply with the law, Cooke will need to hire more employees and experts to increase its monitoring and inspections, properly maintain and clean its equipment and mitigate the impact on the environment. If negotiations with the company lead to remedies within 60 days, the suit will not be filed. Otherwise, CLF will seek the full penalties allowed under the Clean Water Act.