AROUND THE COASTS
“With the facility being entirely land based, with the sole exception being the supply and discharge pipes for the brackish water, that really helped to give me a certain level of peace of mind.” Nordic Aquafarms
— Travis Otis, Maine lobsterman
Nordic Aquafarms plans a $500 million land-based salmon farm near Belfast, Maine.
navigating local, state and federal permitting. It had originally planned to break ground in 2019 in order to begin growing out 66 million pounds of farmed salmon annually. The site proposal includes nine buildings,
featuring hatcheries, freshwater smolt facilities, grow-out facilities, and support facilities that include office space, a central utility plant, and a water treatment plant. “As a commercial fisherman in
Harwich Port, Mass. Sergio Lima, the tuna buyer for Seafresh, gives Stella Rose a lesson on grading tuna after the bluefin was caught by her grandfather, John Our, and dad, Jesse Rose, on the F/V Barbara O out of Harwich Port.
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10 National Fisherman \ October 2021
northern Penobscot Bay, I did have some questions pertaining to the supply of water going into the fish as well as any discharge they would be introducing into my area,” said Travis Otis, from nearby Searsport, after a public meeting hosted by Nordic in 2018. “With the facility being entirely land based, with the sole exception being the supply and discharge pipes for the brackish water, that really helped to give me a certain level of peace of mind. When they further explained the process during their presentation as to how they would reduce the levels of discharge in comparison to a water-based operation — claims of 90 percent — I was very pleased to hear about how important the local environment is to them.” Opponents of the project filed multiple objections. And according to Heim there are still some outstanding appeals on some of the company’s permits. “We have assessed those thoroughly and are very comfortable with the risk. We won every argument against local opponents and their misinformation in the permitting process. We look forward to moving ahead in short order,” Heim said. A separate dispute over the ownership of intertidal land where the company plans to route inflow and outflow pipes may be nearing resolution after the Belfast City Council voted unanimously in August to pursue eminent domain to take over the area. — Chris Chase and Jessica Hathaway www.nationalfisherman.com
