Judge rules net-pen ban in Washington state “has no legal effect”

A judge has ruled that the U.S. state of Washington’s ban on all net-pen aquaculture, instituted in November 2022, “has no legal effect.” The original ban was instituted via an executive order issued by the Washington Department of Natural Resources on 18 November, 2022. Washington Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, who announced the decision, said the department decided “there is no way to safely farm finfish in open sea net pens without jeopardizing our struggling native salmon.” Soon…