June 27, 2023 — Janet Mills, the governor of the U.S. state of Maine, has signed a bill limiting salmonid aquaculture introduced in the wake of American Aquafarms’ failed bid to establish a facility in Gouldsboro, Maine.
The bill, L.D. 1951, An Act Regarding Marine Finfish Aquaculture, places limits on the stocking density of salmonid aquaculture operations. The bill was sponsored by Maine Senator Nicole Grohoski and co-sponsored by Maine House Minority Leader Representative Billy Bob Faulkingham, and passed through committee in late May before quickly passing both the House and Senate before being signed into law by Mills.
Cooke Aquaculture Vice President of Public Relations told SeafoodSource that the shift made all the difference.
“We appreciate that Maine legislators and the governor took a consultative and science-based approach to finalize the bill at a stocking density in the lease area of up to 30 kilograms per cubic meter,” Richardson said. “Previous bills (up to 22 kilograms per cubic meter) presented to the Maine Marine Resources Committee would have negatively impacted rural coastal jobs and restricted a producer’s ability to introduce new technologies and innovative equipment which otherwise enables aquaculture farms to operate even more sustainably.”