Thousands of farmed Atlantic salmon were accidentally released into the waters between Anacortes and the San Juan Islands, and officials are asking people to catch as many as possible. Tribal fishers, concerned about native salmon populations, call the accident “a devastation.”

Thousands of Atlantic salmon have escaped into Pacific waters east of Victoria after a net pen was damaged. The company is blaming high tides, but the tides weren't unusual.

Local Indigenous community says the invasive species could devastate fishing industry in the area

A fish farm was destroyed after the Atlantic salmon escape, with Cooke Aquaculture calling it a “salvage operation.” Scientists debunked the statement from Cooke that “exceptionally high tides and currents coinciding with this week’s solar eclipse” caused the damage.

A First Nation near Bellingham, Wash., has declared a state of emergency after thousands of Atlantic salmon escaped a U.S. fish farm in the San Juan Islands near Victoria, B.C.

Some are concerned about the farmed Atlantic salmon coming to Alaska and bringing unwelcome competition for native species.

It's unclear how many Atlantic salmon escaped from the pen. The Lummi Nation says tribal fishermen have removed 20,000 from the Puget Sound. Washington state officials says Cooke Aquaculture has recovered 120,000 fish from the pen and that more are still inside.

There were 305,000, 10 lb Atlantic salmon when the pen at the fish farm in the San Juan Islands burst open on Saturday.

Officials blame the failure of a pen near Washington's Cypress Island on high tides caused by the eclipse, but that is being questioned. Fishing boats are scrambling to catch as many as possible.

There could be a major ecological impact to the coastal waters stretching from British Columbia to Oregon after an Atlantic salmon farm near the San Juan Islands, just east of Victoria, accidentally spilled thousands of live fish into local waters.

Atlantic salmon, believed to be part of a cohort that escaped from a U.S.-based fish farm on Aug. 19, are being hauled in by anglers fishing out of French Creek on mid-Vancouver Island. Cameron Whe…