Saving Seafood

MAINE: Maine Governor Janet Mills signs bill placing limits on salmonid aquaculture

June 26, 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.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Former American Aquafarms CEO sells processing facility, new owners exploring development options

June 23, 2023 — Former American Aquafarms CEO Keith Decker has successfully auctioned off the company’s facility in Gouldsboro, Maine, U.S.A. for USD 975,000 (EUR 895,000), the Ellsworth American reported.

Decker announced his resignation from American Aquafarms in early May and soon after announced the facility would be up for sale as compensation for USD 1.125 million (EUR 1.03 million) the company owed him. The company originally bought the 100,000-square-foot facility in 2020, with plans to use the facility for a closed net-pen salmon aquaculture operation in Frenchman’s Bay,  before legal efforts and permit trouble effectively ended the project’s hopes of getting off the ground.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: Troubled American Aquafarms project spawns bill limiting aquaculture in Maine

May 30, 2023 — Legislators in the U.S. state of Maine have proposed a new bill that would put density limits on salmon farms in state waters, a move made in response to the troubled American Aquafarms project.

The new bill, LD 1951, “An Act Regarding Marine Finfish Aquaculture,” would amend state law to add maximum stocking densities for salmon net pens located in state waters. The state’s Committee on Marine Resources unanimously voted ought-to-pass on 25 May on an amended version of the bill requiring salmonid net pens to remain under a density of 30 kilograms per cubic meter.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

With American Aquafarms farm stalled in Maine, Keith Decker resigns as CEO, moves to sell processing plant

May 14, 2023 — Keith Decker, who joined American Aquafarms as its CEO in October 2021, announced his resignation in early May and is now seeking to sell his share in the facility the company planned to use for its processing operations.

American Aquafarms reached an agreement to purchase the former Maine Fair Trade Lobster facility, in Gouldsboro, Maine, U.S.A., in October 2020. The 100,000-square-foot facility, formerly owned by the East Coast Seafood Group, was intended to house the company’s hatchery and fish farm facilities as part of a planned closed net-pen salmon aquaculture operation with a production capacity of up to 30,000 metric tons annually.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MAINE: American Aquafarms drops lawsuit against state but will keep pursuing Frenchman Bay fish farm

July 27, 2022 — The company behind a controversial fish farm planned for Frenchman Bay will drop its lawsuit against the state and plans to work to fix issues that sank its previous application earlier this year.

On Monday, attorneys for American Aquafarms, which has proposed growing as much as 60 million pounds of Atlantic salmon in net pens off Gouldsboro, filed a request in Cumberland County Superior Court to dismiss its case against the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

The company sued DMR in May after the department rejected its application due to the lack of a state-approved source for its salmon eggs.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

American Aquafarms withdraws lawsuit against Maine Department of Marine Resources

July 26, 2022 — American Aquafarms, the company with plans to build a salmon farm in Gouldsboro, Maine, U.S.A., has withdrawn a lawsuit it initiated against the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR).

In April 2022, American Aquafarms’ planned aquaculture project was dealt a major setback after the Maine DMR decided it would no longer process the company’s lease applications. The DMR denied the application, citing a lack of an approved egg source for its salmon.

Read the full article at SeaFoodSource

MAINE: American Aquafarms says, “We’re not going anywhere”

June 2, 2022 — American Aquafarms has appealed a recent decision by the Maine Department of Marine Resources to terminate two lease applications for a proposed salmon farm in Frenchman Bay.

The DMR terminated the Norwegian-back company’s applications to grow 66 million pounds of Atlantic salmon annually at two sites near Bald Ledge and Long Porcupine Island because American Aquafarms “failed to fulfill its legal obligation to demonstrate an available source of fish to be cultivated at its proposed salmon farms in Frenchman Bay,” according to a statement released by DMR on April 20.

American Aquafarms is asking the court to vacate the DMR’s decision and send the applications back to the department for continued consideration. The DMR, in a statement, said it stands behind its decision to terminate the lease applications.

The reason for termination, according to the DMR, lies in the proposed egg stock that American Aquafarms had listed in its application. “The source of Atlantic salmon proposed by American Aquafarms, AquaBounty of Newfoundland, Canada, did not meet the criteria for a ‘Qualified Source/Hatchery’ as defined in DMR regulations,” and that the company “failed to provide documentation demonstrating that the proposed source of fish/eggs could meet genetic requirements in law.”

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

Frenchman Bay salmon farm developer sues Maine for spiking its lease application

May 31, 2022 — The company behind a controversial plan to build an industrial-scale salmon farm in Frenchman Bay is taking its case to court after the Maine Department of Marine Resources terminated its lease application last month.

American Aquafarms filed a complaint against the state in Cumberland County Superior Court last week. The Portland company, funded by Norwegian investors, proposed raising 66 million pounds of Atlantic salmon annually at two closed, 15-pen sites in Frenchman Bay, between Bar Harbor and Gouldsboro, with each pen encompassing 60 acres. The company also proposed operating a fish processing plant in Gouldsboro.

In its complaint, American Aquafarms alleges that the department’s decision was not supported by evidence. It also claims that the department spoke with a third party without its knowledge just days before the decision, violating American Aquafarms’ right to due process.

The state’s marine regulatory body terminated the application April 19. There were two major issues with it, said Jeff Nichols, department spokesperson.

First, the company failed to find a proper source for its fish eggs, according to Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the department. The hatchery listed in the application, AquaBounty in Newfoundland, is not on Maine’s list of qualified egg sources.

American Aquafarms also failed to show that the proposed hatchery satisfied genetic requirements mandated by state law, Keliher said.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

American Aquafarms appeals termination of its lease application for a controversial salmon farm

May 27, 2022 — A company that wants to build an industrial-scale salmon farm near Acadia National Park in Frenchman Bay is appealing the Maine Department of Marine Resources’ termination of its lease application.

American Aquafarms, which is backed by a Norwegian investor group, has proposed raising 60 million pounds of salmon in floating net pans on two 60-acre sites off Gouldsboro.

Earlier this year DMR determined its lease application did not properly document how eggs used in the first years of operation would be safe for the environment and for wild salmon.

“Filing an appeal we hope will keep the permit application alive. We did this as a last resort. We are trying very much trying to work within the process, we thought we met all the requirements,” said company spokesman Thomas Brennan.

Read the full story at Maine Public Radio

MAINE: American Aquafarms buys shuttered Gouldsboro seafood processing plant

May 3, 2022 — American Aquafarms has purchased a former sardine cannery in Gouldsboro, indicating the company will likely continue to pursue a salmon farm in Frenchman Bay after being dealt a major permitting setback last month.

The sale of the Maine Fair Trade Lobster plant from East Coast Seafood to American Aquafarms closed Friday, according to East Coast Seafood CEO Bob Blais. American Aquafarms has said that it plans to use the 11-acre property in the village of Prospect Harbor for a hatchery and processing facility.

Thomas Brennan, American Aquafarms director of project development, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. On Friday, he said knew the company was heading in the direction of a sale, but didn’t have a firm closing date.

“It’s going to happen,” Brennan said. “It’s just a question of when.”

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News