May 7, 2021 — Divisive opinions around Maine’s growing aquaculture industry, particularly a proposed salmon farming operation in Frenchman Bay, are driving lawmakers to consider studying coastal development in general.
The Legislature’s Marine Resource Committee held a public hearing Tuesday on LD 1211, “Resolve, To Create the Study Group To Research Balancing Development and Conservation in Maine’s Coastal Waters and Submerged Lands,” introduced by state Rep. Lynne Williams, D-District 135.
A goal of the bill is to establish regional units functioning in individual bay areas, composed of municipal representatives and consultants, that would be able to provide input into how each bay is used.
The resolve would establish the group “to address current system deficiencies in the regulation of the state’s coastal waters and submerged lands.”