This past March, Washington state successfully passed a law phasing out open-water Atlantic salmon aquaculture from Puget Sound.

“Our Sound, Our Salmon” is launching a new campaign to educate the public about a debilitating and potentially lethal salmonid virus remaining in Puget Sound Atlantic salmon net pens that cannot be ignored until 2022.

On Aug. 9, Kurt Beardslee of Wild Fish Conservancy for a public discussion on the virus in Puget Sound. Admission is free with snacks and beverages provided by Orcas Food Co-op, at the Parish Hall from 6 to 8 p.m. Beardslee will explain what recent science reveals about the virus and how exposure to PRV-infected farmed fish places our native salmonids at risk. He’ll review the results of recent PRV-testing in Puget Sound farmed Atlantic salmon and what these results suggest about the potential scale of infection in the remaining net pens.

Beardslee will also discuss Our Sound, Our Salmon’s efforts to stand in solidarity with B.C. First Nations as they petition the Canadian government to remove PRV-infected fish farms from their ancestral waters. Finally, learn all about Our Sound, Our Salmon’s new campaign to ensure PRV-infected farmed Atlantic salmon are removed from Puget Sound and how you can support these efforts. This presentation will be followed by a Q and A.