Saving Seafood

American Aquafarms CEO talks about industry’s future as wild marine stocks decline

November 9, 2021 — American Aquafarms, a Norwegian company that hopes to install a $300 million salmon farm in the waters of Frenchman Bay, recently announced the appointment of Keith Decker the company’s CEO, based in the U.S.

Decker is a 30-year industry veteran with experience in seafood production and processing, with leadership roles in some of the largest North American seafood companies. He’s a board member and investor in an Oslo, Norway, company that plans to build and operate an industrial scale land-based Atlantic salmon operation outside of Reno, Nev.

American Aquafarms proposes to lease 120 acres in Frenchman Bay, between Bar Harbor and Schoodic Peninsula, to install 30 “closed pens” and produce 66 million pounds of salmon annually, and to install a hatchery and processing facility in Gouldsboro.

Mainebiz asked Decker what drew him to the firm and about his plans going forward.

Here’s an edited transcript.

Mainebiz: Where were you up to now?

Keith Decker: For 17 years in New Hampshire I ran High Liner Foods, the largest manufacturer of value-added seafood in North America. At the peak, I had seven manufacturing plants and 2,000 employees. Then for the last four years, I was building and running the largest groundfish fishing company on the East Coast, Blue Harvest Fisheries LLC, headquartered in New Bedford, Mass.

I’m in the process of moving to Maine.

MB: What drew you to American Aquafarms?

KD: A couple of people from American reached out to me.

What I’ve seen through my career is what I believe is the need to onshore our seafood production and rebuild our production capacity on the East Coast and throughout the United States. As a country, we import about 90% of our seafood. Five of the top eight species we consume are farm-raised and, effectively, the majority of it is grown globally and either air-freighted into the United States or put onto container ships to the United States. One thing that’s become really evident, over the last 18 months, is that COVID has exposed our global supply chain problems, not to mention climate change issues of flying seafood to the United States.

I’ve been interested in farm-raised salmon, kelp, oysters and other species — I think that’s a fantastic industry that will only continue to grow.

Read the full story at Mainebiz

American Aquafarms names Keith Decker as new CEO

October 27, 2021 — American Aquafarms, which announced a plan to build a new salmon-aquaculture facility in the U.S. state of Maine a year ago – has hired Keith Decker as its new CEO.

Decker has been CEO of New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Blue Harvest Fisheries since January 2018, when he replaced Jeff Davis, who retired. Decker previously served as the CEO of High Liner Foods from 2015 to 2017.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

MAINE: Dozens of boaters protest proposed salmon farm near Acadia National Park

September 1, 2021 — Choosing Frenchman Bay makes American Aquafarms’ plans more controversial than they might otherwise be, a University of New England professor of ocean systems said.

The proposal, currently in a state-level permitting process with both the Maine Department of Marine Resources and Maine Department of Environmental Protection, would allow American Aquafarms, a Norwegian-backed company, to place large commercial salmon-raising operation in Frenchman Bay, which borders the park and nearby towns like Bar Harbor.

The farm will be 120 acres in size, according to Maine Public.

American Aquafarms says the salmon would be in closed pens and would represent a $250 million investment in the region that creates 100 jobs and includes a redevelopment of an industrial waterfront area in nearby Gouldsboro.

But opponents of the project, like those who were part of the protest, say they’re concerned about light pollution, noise pollution, environmental risks and tourists finding the farm unsightly.

Read the full story at News Center Maine

MAINE: More than 125 boats participate in protest on Frenchman Bay

August 30, 2021 — More than 125 boats chugged across Frenchman Bay on Sunday to protest plans by American Aquafarms to place an industrial salmon farm in the bay off the coast of Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

Organizers of the “Save the Bay” flotilla said it demonstrates the depth of opposition to the proposed salmon farm. The parade of boats included working lobster boats as well as pleasure craft.

The flotilla passed by the Bar Harbor town pier, where people stood holding signs in opposition to the fish farm.

Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation helped organize Sunday’s protest. The foundation and other parties are concerned that the fish farm will have negative environmental implications on the bay and its users.

American Aquafarms describes itself on its website as an American company that is in the process of establishing a hatchery, fish farm facilities – for both Atlantic salmon and cod – and a state-of-the art processing plant in coastal Maine.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

An uptick in industrial aquaculture in Maine has some lobster – and fishermen hot under the collar

August 6, 2021 — With international and domestic corporations aiming to set up in its waters, the state of Maine is bullish on aquaculture’s potential.

And no wonder, considering that it’s managed to triple its annual aquaculture sales revenue between 2007 and 2017, to almost $138 million.

High-profile privately funded ventures have lately been converging on this corner of the North Atlantic. Millions in Shopify dollars and venture capital are backing Running Tide, a Portland, Maine-based oyster operation, in its bid to figure out how to use kelp as a carbon offset. Norwegian-owned American Aquafarms wants to raise 120 acres of salmon in Frenchman Bay, and other large Canadian and Dutch finfish aquaculture companies are moving into the region. Maine is collaborating with several states to build a national seaweed hub and, with $1.2 million from a 2019 NOAA Sea Grant, is opening its own aquaculture hub to support various sea-based farming industries.

This bustle, though, has raised the hackles of lobstermen and -women represented by grassroots Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation (PMFHF) organization. They say large-scale aquaculture corporations are intent on “privatizing” the public ocean, in the process displacing locals who’ve fished these waters for years and endangering their livelihoods. They feel considerably less optimistic about the burst of interest in aquafarming in their local waters—and in particular, about the expanded terms of the leases that accommodate these operations; a single entity can now hold 1,000 acres, up from a limit of 300 in 2006, and the duration of those leases doubled, from a decade to 20 years, in 2017.

Read the full story at The Counter

MAINE: In Acadia’s Shadow: Latest Flashpoint in Conflict Over Industrial Fish Farms

August 2, 2021 — A Norwegian investor wants to bring a new kind of fish farm to a stunning, island-studded bay at the base of Acadia’s famous Cadillac Mountain. The project is uniting broad opposition in and around tourist-dependent Mt. Desert Island.

The “American Aquafarms” project is the latest in a series of industrial-scale fish farms proposed for Maine, highlighting how the nation’s demand for seafood is putting pressure on local marine economies.

Frenchman Bay reaches from the eastern side of Mt. Desert Island to the Schoodic peninsula. Through the 20th century, sardine canneries dotted the bay. But the last of them, in Gouldsboro, shut down more than a decade ago.

“Sardines, and the herring fishery was the biggest fishery for 50 or 60 years and then that declined. But now the only thing left is small fisheries – scallops and all of that. Lobster’s the only viable industry,” says Dana Rice, Gouldbsoro’s selectman.

Here at Gouldbsoro’s town office, Rice is also the harbormaster and a lobster dealer. He says even the lobster processing company that took over the old harbor sardine plant has had a hard time making it, and waterfront jobs have dwindled. So when a Norwegian investor started sounding out local officials about converting it into a fish hatchery and processing facility for an at-sea salmon farm, Rice was interested.

“I would like to see some good paying jobs for the younger generation… this intrigued me. Hey, they’re talking somewhere between $150 million and $350 million investment, you can’t turn your back on that. You can not,” Rice says.

American Aquafarms optioned the property two years ago, and since has been laying groundwork for what its backers say will be a state-of-the-art “closed-pen” system: an array of enclosed, floating capsules, full of fish, that ostensibly would avoid most of the negative impacts of traditional open-pen salmon farms, such as escapes, disease and pollution.

Read the full story at Maine Public

MAINE: Selectmen to request environmental review of proposed salmon project

July 30, 2021 — Selectmen unanimously voted last week to request that American Aquafarms finance an independent environmental review to determine the impact on the town of its proposed $330 million venture to raise and process 66 million pounds of salmon annually in Frenchman Bay. The Norwegian-backed company’s operation would be based at the closed Maine Fair Trade complex in Prospect Harbor.

At their July 22 meeting, where Friends of Schoodic Peninsula had requested to speak, selectmen took the action after hearing from roughly 90 citizens in person and via Zoom. The initiative for an independent environmental assessment, which falls under the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act, came from the audience, who largely included seasonal and year-round Gouldsboro residents and local fishermen. Many of them had signed a 92-signature letter registering their opposition to American Aquafarms’ entire project in Gouldsboro and Frenchman Bay.

“It is our opinion that this would be a disaster for the environment (on land, sea and air), the vital, local lobstering business, other fishing and small aquaculture businesses, residents and the health of the tourist trade, which supports thousands of local workers,” the letter to the selectmen reads.

Gouldsboro interim Town Manager Eve Wilkinson offered to assist the project’s opponents in possibly putting a referendum question to voters about American Aquafarms’ project. Company officials say the project would create 60 full-time, salaried jobs ranging widely in skill sets from boat captains to electronic system technicians. Her offer to spell out the referendum process, requiring a written petition with signatures totaling at least 10 percent of votes cast in town in the last gubernatorial election, came in response to a citizen’s suggestion of a referendum vote to truly gauge local support for and opposition to the proposed project.

“Get off the sidelines and speak for us,” Thomas Mckeag told selectmen. “I am asking you guys if you are for or against it.”

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

MIKAEL ROENES: Aquaculture project fits Maine’s environmental goals

July 23, 2021 — Maine is pursuing an innovative approach to addressing climate change, one that promotes environmental stewardship while driving economic and job growth. Sustainable and eco-friendly aquaculture investment supports not only the state’s goals, but makes Maine a world leader in creating climate-friendly and responsible food production practices and supply chains.

The U.S. is a minor aquaculture producer, ranked 17th globally, but it is the leading global importer of fish and fishery products. Approximately 90 percent of the seafood we eat comes from abroad, over half from aquaculture.

Instead of importing our fish and exporting our dollars, Maine has rightly identified aquaculture as a prime opportunity to complement traditional fisheries and strengthen our Maine-made food systems.

Maine’s ambitious climate plan encourages increased growth of aquaculture, noting the potential to mitigate ocean acidification and improve water quality. The state’s economic development strategy promotes aquaculture development, specifically the ability to grow salmon to meet the global demand for safe, climate-responsible food sources.

Read the full opinion piece at the Portland Press Herald

MAINE: Meeting fails to quell salmon farm concerns

July 1, 2021 — American Aquafarms last week once again made a case for its $330 million project to raise Atlantic salmon off Bald Rock and Long Porcupine Island and process the fish at the now dormant Maine Fair Trade Lobster Co. facility in Prospect Harbor. But the Norwegian-backed company’s June 23 presentation did little to quell citizens’ fears that the proposed operation will harm the area’s robust lobster fishery and scenic values that draw millions of visitors to the region annually.

At the Maine Department of Marine Resources’ 3.5-hour scoping session, held via Zoom, American Aquafarms heard comments and answered questions about its proposal and draft applications to lease the two Frenchman Bay sites for up to 20 years. The intent, too, was for the company to inform the public about its proposed plan to harvest as much as 66 million pounds of salmon annually from the two 15-pen sites and process the fish at the Prospect Harbor facility. Sardines, lobster and other seafood have been processed almost continuously at that facility and transported to market from there for at least 115 years.

Attending the Zoom session, Acadia National Park Superintendent Kevin Schneider had a prepared statement to read aloud, but he was not among the 13 people who got to speak during the allotted time. In his statement, made public June 24, Schneider called for the DMR’s July deadline for submitting written comments on the long-term leases to be extended to Aug. 6. In his remarks, he noted that Acadia National Park is just 2,000 feet at the closest point from the two lease sites each comprising 60.32 acres. At both sites, two rows of eight and seven closed pens would be arranged in grids and anchored to the ocean floor in mooring systems encompassing 10 acres each.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

MAINE: Bar Harbor to try to intervene on American Aquafarms lease

June 24, 2021 — As a controversial proposed salmon farm goes through the state lease process, Bar Harbor will likely be the first in line to ask for “intervenor status.”

The Town Council voted unanimously last week to apply to be an intervenor with the state Department of Marine Resources (DMR) on the American Aquafarms salmon farm project, which is proposed to be in the waters of Frenchman Bay off Bar Harbor, though it is technically in the jurisdiction of Gouldsboro.

The Norwegian-backed company has applied to grow salmon at two 60-acre, 15-pen sites northwest of Long Porcupine Island and northeast of Bald Rock Ledge in Frenchman Bay, sparking concerns among local conservationists and fishermen.

If the town is granted intervenor status, it would be allowed to provide testimony at a public hearing on the lease. In some cases, intervenors may also comment on draft decisions.

No other entity has applied for intervenor status yet, said Jeff Nichols, a spokesman for DMR.

The council’s decision to pursue intervenor status took only a few minutes with little discussion. The council had previously sat down with James Hanscom, a Bar Harbor lobsterman and member of the Lobster Zone B Council, and heard his concerns about the project. Before last week’s meeting, Hanscom delivered a statement of opposition on the project to council member Valerie Peacock.

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander