April 14, 2021 — A Maine legislator who hopes to stave off industrial aquaculture and protect lobstermen and women from what he sees as a “large storm” headed for the industry is proposing a bill that small aquaculture farmers say could sink them.
The bill proposed by Rep. Robert Alley, D-Beals, aims to “protect Maine’s ocean waters, support robust regulatory oversight and the long-term health of the aquaculture industry,” according to a concept draft considered by the Committee on Marine Resources Tuesday.
The bill would revamp the permitting framework for state aquaculture leases, restricting the size of a lease and the number of leases and acres a person can hold, along with requiring leases be turned over to the state when they expire and removing an exemption from the Natural Resources Protection Act for leases over 5 acres. The bill also would prompt a review of the resources available to the state Department of Marine Resources’ aquaculture division.
Alley’s bill also would require that the department “convene stakeholder meetings to develop a strategic aquaculture plan with input from leaders in the aquaculture, lobster, fishing, tourism and recreation industries, as well as experts from the environmental and water quality regulatory community.”
While preventing large-scale aquaculture seems to be a primary goal of the proposed legislation, L.D. 1146, small sea farmers told committee on Tuesday that the changes would hurt them.