For FishingMagician.com, I'm Eric Granstrom. State salmon managers are encouraging anglers to fish for thousands of Atlantic salmon that escaped recently from a salmon farm near the San Juan Islands. Cooke Aquaculture notified the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) of a net pen failure on Aug. 19 that caused the release of Atlantic salmon from the Cypress Island location. About 305,000 salmon were in the net pen at the time, though the company initially estimated that only 4,000-5,000 fish have escaped. Cypress Island lies along Rosario Strait between Guemes and Blakely islands. Ron Warren, head of WDFW's Fish Program, said there is no evidence that these fish pose a threat to native fish populations, either through disease or crossbreeding with Pacific salmon. The escaped fish are estimated to be eight to 10 pounds in size and are safe to eat. There is no size or catch limit on Atlantic salmon. However, anglers may only fish for Atlantic salmon in marine waters that are already open to fishing for Pacific salmon or freshwater areas open for trout fishing and must stop fishing for Atlantic salmon once they've caught their daily limit of Pacific salmon. Until next time, Good Fishing!