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A~TURE
Cooke Aquaculture

Paclfic.LLC

August 30, 2017

Chairman Ballew,
First, please let me thank you and the lummi Nation for yourwillinsness

to meet with me on Monday

under sud! challenging circumstances -I know that could not have been easy. let me also thank you for
your leadership and candor and ask for your forgiveness for any offense I committed in speaking with
you, as it certainly was not my Intent. Our company is new to Washington State and we are stillieaming
about tribal sovereignty, ~If-determlnabon
and treaty rights. We must and wUldo better.
It is important for me to again convey how saddened we are by what happened at our farm on Cypress
Island, and to communicate to you our acceptance of responsibility for the re!@aseofourfishlntoyour
waters. On behalf of Cooke Aquaculture Pacific. I once more wisll to sincerely offer my apolog6es to you
and your people. understanding tllat you, the People of the Sea, have fished the bays and rivers and
shores for your sustenance for thousands of years and respecting your devotion to the protection of the
water and salmon for future generations.
Please also accept our commitment to work with the lummi Natten to address and correct .••••
hat
occurred.
Tothat end, I want to address several of the concerns discussed on Monday.
First, ph!ase be assured that any live fish that remain In the d••maged pens are fully contained and in the
process of being removed. We ar@also seeking emergency authOr/latten from the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to remove the compromised structure Immediately.
Second, Cooke Aquaculture PacrflCunderstands that the Individuals who removed the escaped fish from
the waters expect and d~rve
to be compensat~. We ue. ul mentioned, prepued to r@lmburse;lll
recovered Atlantic salman from our operations at a rate of thirty dollars per ticketed fish. We do
apologize for the unauthorized deployment of a fish tender 00 your waters on Mondav: this was done In
an effort to expedite the purchase offISh. To do this both quickly and respectfully, we would propose
utillzint: '(our existing relationship with a fish wholesaler of '(our choosing. Please notify us of the name
of your preferred vendor or vendors and we will cont ••ct them immediately.
Third, we recognize the long.term concerns of the lummi Nation, and are prepared to make a
meaningful contribution to the Salmon Enhancement Dlvlslon to help with any nec@ssaryadditilJnal
$.lImon monitoring, sampling and testing costs. We look forward to continuing conVi!rsatlon with you to
understand yoor perspeodive and needs.

 Fourth. w@wouktverymuch enjoy entering Into iIdialosue with the lummI Nation about fishery best~
prilCtlces, rMe'i1rch. tKhnology ilnd Infrastructure. As harvesters of salmon, we have much In common.
w@b@lIevethatourcompanyandyourpeoplewould
benefit greatly from an exchang@ofldeas,values
and technical expertKe about our shared enterprise. We are prepared to pay a visit to your ancestral
lands to meet with your team of experts any tim@orseeth@operationsofyourf1atcheriesatLummiBay
and Skookum Creek; similarly, as I stated on Mondav, we would be delighted to host you on a tour of
our sites In SCotland, or Maine or the East Coast of canada to introduce you to our fanners and see how
our systems operllt@.
We will continue to identify ways that Cooke Aquaculture Pacific can be a productive partner with the
lummi Nation. Salmon Is Important to us. But to you, we genuinely understand that salmon is much
more. Salmon is sacred. It Is lIfe. It is sustenanCf!. It Is your ancestral tradition, your trilial mythology,
your living C\llture and your promise to the fUlur@.CookeAquaculture Pacific honors this, and seeks to
understand It @Yenmore In ttle weeks and months and years ahead.
Pleue Jet me know when you and I can meet next to follow up on the tl:ems detailed above. I am looking
forward to speaking with you again.