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The catastrophic collapse of an Atlantic salmon pen in Puget Sound was preventable, according to a state investigation that finds owners of Cooke Aquaculture tried to cover up the severity of a recent salmon spill.

“The collapse of the net pen was entirely preventable,” said Public Lands Commissioner Hillary Franz. “Let me be clear, Cooke’s disregard caused this disaster and recklessly put our state’s ecosystem at risk.”

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In August, a net at Cooke Aquaculture’s Atlantic salmon pen near Bellingham failed. An estimated 300,000 of the non-native species of salmon broke free from the nets into Puget Sound. It caused alarm among the region’s tribes and fishing communities as well as ecologists. After the incident, the company planned to move about 1 million more of the Atlantic salmon to its facilities near Bainbridge Island — a move opposed by state officials.

Atlantic salmon spill

Franz said Tuesday that the state investigation into the incident discovered Cooke Aquaculture did not clean and maintain its salmon nets properly. This caused plants and mussels to build up on the nets. It’s a phenomenon known as biofouling. The state also claims that the company acted nefariously when dealing with authorities.

“Cooke failed to clean and maintain their facility properly allowing more than 110 tons of mussels and plants to accumulate on the pen’s nets,” Franz said.

“The report makes clear that Cooke was aware of the biofouling on the nets and the poor condition of the facility,” she said. “Nevertheless, when confronted with dire warnings, Cooke misled state agencies.”

Cooke Aquaculture originally reported around 100,000 salmon were released, but the state found that more than twice that amount actually escaped into the Salish Sea.

“They knew there was an issue, and Cooke Aquaculture could have, and should have, prevented this incident,” said Department of Ecology Director Maia Bellon.