July 10, 2012 – A man’s bid to build a commercial halibut farm in Linekin Bay has prompted the creation of a local group who is lobbying against the idea, even before it has had a chance to get off the ground.
While the group has voiced a long list of concerns, the president of the Maine Aquaculture Association said there are vast pockets of people who in general support having Maine follow examples from around the world of using aquaculture as a way to preserve working waterfronts and marine-related jobs, as stocks of natural fish species have declined steadily.
Sewall Maddocks Jr. has yet to file any official permit applications, according to Maine Department of Marine Resources, but held a public exploratory scoping session in March. Diantha Robinson, an aquaculture administrator and DMR hearing officer, said Maddocks, who wants to grow halibut in the fish farm, has indicated he is interested in leasing a 27-acre portion of Linekin Bay for up to 10 years, but that he needs permits from Department of Environmental Protection and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers before proceeding.
Maddocks, who on Friday declined to discuss his project with the Bangor Daily News, already is facing local opposition. Mark Osborn of Boothbay Harbor, whose home faces the proposed site of the fish farm, said he and others have formed a group called Friends of Linekin Bay in opposition to the project. Other members of the new group’s board of directors, according to Osborn, are Daniel Lerner, Robert Frazier, Melanie Howe, Michael Brewer and Martha Clayter.
Read the full article at the Bangor Daily News.