According to the Board of Natural Resources, commercial net-pen fish farming in the Salish Sea is no more.

The decision, hailed by Whidbey Island environmentalists, means that the rest of the state will follow Island County’s lead in banning fish farms.

The decision eliminates enclosed floating cages in the sea holding farmed fish that allow water to freely flow through. Activists point to a net-pen farm failure off Cypress Island in Skagit County in 2017 that released 260,000 Atlantic salmon into Washington’s waters as a catalyst for the ban.

Board Members Chris Reykdal and Wendy Powers-Schilling abstained from voting.

The decision has been in the works for years. Following the failure, the state senate passed a bill to protect the state’s waters by phasing out Atlantic salmon net-pen farming by prohibiting Natural Resources from entering a new lease or other aquatic lands use authorization that involves Atlantic salmon.

Additionally, Natural Resources would not be allowed to renew or extend an existing lease that involves Atlantic salmon farming. Existing leases will terminate by next year.

Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz banned net pen aquaculture via commissioner’s order in 2022, which can be overturned by the next commissioner. The recent decision codifies the rule as she leaves office this month.

In 2012, Island County commissioners and leaders in several other counties called for a moratorium on such fish farm operations. Island County commissioners successfully worked out an agreement with the state that banned fish farms in the shoreline management plans.

Activists on Whidbey consider the recent ruling a win.

“We are delighted by Washington State’s decision to uphold the net-pen ban,” said Marnie Jackson, executive director of the Whidbey Environmental Action Network. “We see this as a victory for our wild salmon, our orca and for the community members of Washington that spoke out loud and clear against the environmental damage that can be caused by this finfish farming industry, so we are grateful that Washington State upheld this sensible decision, and we join Oregon and California in protecting our wild waters.”

On the other hand, Maria Smithson, public affairs strategist for the Jamestown S’Klallam tribe, said the decision violates tribal treaty rights.

While Joe Smillie, communications officer for the Department of Natural Resources, said the ban does not apply to tribes, Smithson said tribes will feel the impact.

Studies suggest net-pen aquaculture risks disruption of ecosystems, introduction of invasive species and disease transmissions. Jack Rensel, a fisheries and aquatic scientist, said in a letter to the Department of Natural Resources that there are other aspects less considered, such as the practice of producing fish more efficiently with less waste than other forms of aquaculture.

Rensel said that net-pen farming can enhance food webs via organic carbon and dissolved nitrogen, and the Washington Department of Fisheries adequately prevents the spread of disease. Public comments also address the lack of local studies on the matter.

Orca activists such as Cindy Hansen, education and advocacy coordinator for Whidbey’s Orca Network, point to local studies about the Salish Sea’s distinct orca population.

In a joint letter with Monika Wieland Shield of Orca Behavior Institute and Whitney Neugebauer of Whale Scout, Hansen stated that research published last year shows that southern resident orcas face an accelerating risk of extinction due to reduced prey availability. According to Hansen, protecting the orcas may be impossible without restoring diminished populations of Chinook salmon.

Salmon make up the vast majority of the southern resident orca diet, and banning net-pens are a step in the direction of protecting orcas, according to the letter.

Several Natural Resources board members, while voting for the ban, acknowledged the lack of local studies on net-pens, saying that the department should continue examining whether net-pen farming may be viable in the future.