April 26, 2022 — The summit of Cadillac Mountain in Acadia National Park in the northeastern U.S. state of Maine offers sweeping, unobstructed views of Frenchman Bay. Surrounded by islands and rocky shorelines, the bay is known throughout Maine for recreation and resources. But new projects may lie over the horizon. American Aquafarms, backed by Norwegian investors, planned to build the largest salmon farm in North America here, just on the edge of Acadia National Park. And lobstermen, like Jerry Potter, say they feared that if the project went through, the pristine waters of Frenchman Bay would never be the same.
“It’s going to ruin the ecosystem of the bay and ruin all the resources … mussels, shrimp, lobsters, crabs, everything,” said Potter, 76, from the nearby town of Gouldsboro.
American Aquafarms first proposed the salmon farm in 2020, in hopes that they would produce 30 million metric tons of salmon each year. The farm would also curb the U.S. reliance on imported seafood, according to Tom Brennan, the director of project management at American Aquafarms. The US currently imports 70-85% of its seafood, about half of which is produced through aquaculture.
But the massive project is now indefinitely delayed. On April 19, 2022, state officials terminated American Aquafarm’s application, citing that American Aquafarms failed to provide documentation that the egg source proposed to stock the pens would meet state requirements. In Maine, genetically modified fish cannot be used to stock salmon pens, however American Aquafarms proposed to work with the company that created the first genetically modified Atlantic salmon.
Brennan is shocked by the decision, stating that the company also included eggs from the USDA as a backup plan in the proposal. That facility was established to provide eggs to salmon growers in Maine, he adds.