Saving Seafood

Gulf of Maine Research Institute launches new aquaculture knowledge portal

October 29, 2020 — The Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) has announced the launch of a new online portal, “The Maine Aquaculturist,” designed to help aquaculture operations in the U.S. state of Maine access resources in the state.

The new portal was created in response to the growing number of aquaculture operations that are either already in business or are planning to establish locations in the state, according to GMRI. In the past few years, companies including Whole Oceans, Nordic Aquafarms, The Kingfish Company, Aquabanq, and American Aquafarms have all announced proposals for either land-based or net-pen aquaculture operations in various locations throughout the state. Those primarily finfish operations are additions onto the existing – and growing – shellfish aquaculture operations in the state, farming oysters in locations up and down the coast.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

American Aquafarms CEO: Local support is key to success in Maine

October 20, 2020 — The U.S. state of Maine has become a hotbed of aquaculture activity, with numerous companies announcing plans to open recirculating aquaculture system farms, including Nordic Aquafarms in Belfast, Whole Oceans in Bucksport, Kingfish Zeeland in Jonesport, and Aquabanq in Millinocket.

As of Friday, 16 October, another company has arrived in the Pine Tree State: American Aquafarms, which has invested in a site in Gouldsboro as its base for a closed net-pen salmon farm, from which it hopes to produce 30,000 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon by 2024.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

GMRI report lays path to boost Maine’s aquaculture workforce

August 3, 2020 — The aquaculture industry in Maine is steadily growing, with three large farms being built with recirculating aquaculture systems by Nordic Aquafarms, Whole Oceans, and The Kingfish Co., but will the state be able to grow its workforce to meet the demand for skilled employees?

That’s the question asked and addressed in a new 123-page report from the Gulf of Maine Research Institute that identifies the labor needs of Maine’s growing aquaculture industry and charts a course for Maine to establish a comprehensive workforce training system.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Nordic Aquafarms close to clearing final permitting hurdle for building Maine-based salmon RAS

May 21, 2020 — Nordic Aquafarms’ Belfast, Maine, U.S.A.-based salmon recirculating aquaculture system plans have moved past a major point in the progress, as the state’s Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) recently met to deliberate four major permits required for the project.

The BEP deliberated four separate permits for the site: A discharge permit, a site law permit, a natural resources permit, and an air emissions permit. All those permits are necessary for Nordic’s planned 850,000 gross square-foot, USD 500 million (EUR 456 million) facility.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Maine regulators to make decision on large salmon farm

March 10, 2020 — Maine regulators plan to make a decision about a large salmon farm after they take the last of the public comments about the proposal.

Norway-based Nordic Aquafarms wants to build the land-based farm, which would produce tens of millions of pounds of salmon per year. The Maine Department of Marine Resources has hosted public hearings about the proposal that have garnered some criticism of the project from residents.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Maine to Take Final Comments on Belfast Salmon Farm Proposal

March 4, 2020 — Maine officials are taking the final comments on a proposal to build a large, land-based salmon farm in Belfast.

Nordic Aquafarms of Norway wants to build the facility, which would produce tens of millions of pounds of salmon per year.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources hosted a public hearing about the proposal on Monday night, and the state is taking comments on it until March 12. The proposal has been contentious in the community because of the scope of the project, which would use tanks to grow the fish.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at NBC Boston

MAINE: Nordic Aquafarms completes permit hearings

March 3, 2020 — Nordic Aquafarms (NAF) has completed the last hearing for state-level permitting required for the company to complete its planned USD 500 million (EUR 447.9 million) salmon recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility in Belfast, Maine.

The hearings, which occurred on 2 March, were for a state-level permit for the removal and disposal of subtidal excavation material and the company’s plans to ensure local fisheries aren’t impacted. The removal of material is part of the company’s plan to locate inlet and outlet pipes for the facility in the nearby Penobscot Bay.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MAINE: Dozens weigh in on proposed land-based salmon farm in Belfast

March 3, 2020 — More talk about Nordic Aqaufarms’ permit application regarding the DEP Monday night in Belfast.

The company wants to build a land-based salmon farm in the town capable of producing millions of pounds of fish per year.

Some officials with the Department of Marine Resources listened to comments and concerns about the proposed facility’s potential impacts on not only fishing activities but also the fishing industry.

All public comments will be passed along to Maine DEP.

Some are worried about possible environmental concerns and sediments too.

“To disturb the bottom sediments in this area for the Nordic Aquafarms project, would cause a few contaminations problems,” explained Lobsterman David Black.

“We’ve been talking about a lot of different parts of the project for a long time, but we think we are getting really close. We’ve told our case and we feel that all the information is out there for a decision.,” Edward Cotter, Nordic Aquafarms, Senior Vice Pres. Projects said.

Cotter added if they get all the approval they need to build the proposed facility, they’d like to start construction in the summer or fall.

Read the full story at WABI

MAINE: Belfast lobstermen fear Nordic Aquafarms’ discharge pipes will harm fishery

May 22, 2019 — Some Belfast lobster fishermen told the local Harbor Advisory Committee that they were concerned that dredging for installation of Nordic Aquafarms’ discharge and intake pipes along submerged lands could release mercury in the ocean sediment and pose a hazard to navigation.

Mercury contamination has closed lobster and crab fishing in part of Penobscot Bay in recent years.

The Belfast Town Council heard about the concerns at its May 7 meeting.

“The fishermen have concerns,” advisory committee member Dan Miller told the council. The committee doesn’t have any purview over Nordic Aquafarms’ proposal, he noted. “Our place is to ask you to make sure those concerns are in some way addressed by the appropriate agency.”

Miller said “a handful of fishermen” voiced concerns that dredging for installation of the pipes could stir up mercury. He noted that some testing for mercury has been performed in the area. Further testing would likely identify whether it’s a valid concern, he said.

“We would suggest that, if we run into mercury during the [installation] process, we would stop the process and look again,” Miller said. “But we won’t know until we get there, short of considerable testing.”

The committee also heard concerns that pipe operation could increase water temperature in the surrounding area and affect lobster fishing, he said.

With regard to the possibility of mercury being stirred up through dredging, “Is this something that we as a city should contact the state to have them address?” Councilor Paul Dean asked the city’s director of code and planning, Wayne Marshall.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Maine can have both environmental stewardship and aquaculture innovation

March 11, 2019 — There is a 90 percent deficit in fresh seafood trade in the U.S. A large amount of the fresh salmon consumed in the U.S. is flown in from Europe, Chile, and New Zealand, leaving a considerable carbon footprint. Along with an expected 7 to 8 percent annual growth in seafood consumption, there is a strong incentive for creating new, sustainable food systems in the U.S.

While the demand-supply gap keeps growing, there is no growth in sight from wild catch fisheries or net pen operations. Thus, solutions must take a new approach to fish farming and be sustainable. This is where local, land-based aquaculture comes into the picture.

Nordic Aquafarms was started in Norway with a mission to create a more environmentally sustainable way of producing fish — a solution for the future. Nordic Aquafarms is an international front-runner in the land-based fish farming industry. Land-based facilities are indoor production facilities where fish are raised to harvest size in a series of independent tank systems. It is not possible for the fish to escape from our facility, while other potentially harmful effects on wild salmon populations are eliminated.

Read the full story at Bangor Daily News