King County Executive Dow Constantine is calling for a six-month moratorium on Atlantic salmon net-pen aquaculture along the shores of unincorporated King County.

Constantine said he is proposing the ban to the Metropolitan King County Council because of the spill at Cooke Aquaculture’s salmon net pen at Cypress Island last August, unleashing invasive, non-native Atlantic salmon in Puget Sound. More than 105,000 of the 8-10-pound fish were never captured, and were reported by fishermen all over Puget Sound and beyond. By now the fish are presumed dead. But concerns about the long-term effect of the spill remain.

“The … farmed, invasive Atlantic salmon that spilled into the Salish Sea in August threaten our native fish populations and our way of life,” Constantine said in a news release. “Atlantic salmon don’t belong here. Beyond a six month moratorium, we need to ensure these operations can never again pose a threat to indigenous salmon already struggling to survive.”

Read more at The Seattle Times