Groups opposed to Industrial Scale Aquaculture say the state is already failing to provide oversight with salmon net pen aquaculture in Maine

May 6, 2021

For Immediate Release

(Frenchman Bay, Maine) - American Aquafarms is proposing an industrial scale salmon farm using untested technology at the foot of Acadia National Park.  On April 28th, American Aquafarms held a sham question and answer session in which the audience was hidden, the chat and question functions were disabled, and the company selected the questions. 

Following the meeting five different groups sent a letter to the commissioner of Environmental Protection, the Commissioner of Marine Resources, and the Governor’s Office calling for an open and transparent process.  Tonight, a DEP-required Public Informational Meeting will be held, and the groups are calling on American Aquafarms to let the public see who is attending and allow the public to ask the questions, not the company.

Kathleen Rybarz of Friends of Frenchman’s Bay and Jeri Bowers of Friends of Eastern Bay added, “This project is extremely complex, relies on the timely coordination of detailed electronic data, presents many significant potential environmental, mechanical, technical, oversight and accident/hazard risks. Since a project of this type and scale (30 huge semi-closed pens projected to raise 66,000,000 million pounds of market ready fish per annum) has never been installed anywhere in the world, no pertinent experiential data can exist. In order to evaluate their modeled and projected assumptions, DEP and we will need access to comprehensive data in a timely manner that will allow us to fully evaluate them, with experts and lawyers if need be, and to prepare an informed response. It appears that American Aquafarms is stalling by refusing to answer questions and reveal specific data they will be presenting in their application until the last possible minute.”

Ted O’Meara from Save the Bay said, “American Aquafarms is a Wyoming-registered, Norwegian company run by Norwegian nationals whose background seems to be primarily in finance, not large-scale fishing farming. The CEO readily admits to having been convicted of investor fraud and serving time in prison. It is clear that the profits from this project will flow to foreign investors and while the people who live and work on the water and in the communities around Frenchman Bay will pay the price for this totally inappropriate and damaging development.

Meanwhile, Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Executive Director Crystal Canney said, “An important part of the process is oversight of discharge into the ocean from industrial scale aquaculture.  Cooke Aquaculture grows farm raised salmon in the ocean in Downeast Maine with over 600 acres.  Cooke’s discharge permit expired several years ago. When Protect Maine contacted the Department of Environmental Protection about this, the response was they didn’t have enough staff to keep up with updating Cooke’s discharge permit. 

An obvious question is: why the state is accepting applications for large scale industrial aquaculture projects when it can’t keep up with the ones currently on its plate?   The fact that there aren’t enough people to protect the ocean should be cause for a moratorium on this project immediately.”  

Contact:
Crystal Canney

Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation

207 615 5968

protectmaine@gmail.com

 

 

Letter

From:   Friends of Frenchman Bay

            Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation

            Friends of Eastern Bay

            Friends of the Schoodic Peninsula

            Save the Bay

To:       Maine Department of Environmental Protection

            Attn: Commissioner Melanie Loyzim

            Bureau of Water Quality: Ms Cindy Dionne

Dear Commissioner Loyzim:

We are writing to inform you of our deep concern with the American Aquafarm’s presentations to the public.

We represent people from communities surrounding Frenchman Bay: year-round and seasonal residents; fishermen, lobstermen, clammers, wormers, aquaculturists; scientists; businesspeople from tourism, hospitality, retail and other industries; educators; healthcare and legal professionals, vacationers; environmentalists; many of whose families have treasured and preserved the Bay for generations.

We are united in opposition to the installation of experimental, industrial scale semi-closed finfish pens that are unplanned, inappropriate and dangerous for our Bay, which is the most popular on the Eastern seaboard, abutting a treasured National Park that is lovingly protected and prized for its natural habitat, unmarred vistas and pristine beauty.  It will upend our economy which is symbiotic and balanced with tourism/recreation; sustainable fishing, farming and harvesting of marine flora and fauna; science; education; businesses serving seasonal visitors and supporting the year-round population. 

We have attended many of the presentations given to the public by American Aquafarms since the first in Gouldsboro in April. They present no hard data. They rely on statements such as: “we believe”, “American Aquafarms is confident”, “we are comfortable with the reliability”. Questions have had to be submitted in advance and are either not answered or combined in watered-down versions to allow the answers they desire to give. On the rare occasions when questions were asked directly, the answers were often vague or off-point. Follow-up questions to elicit a more specific response were never allowed. 

In the most recent Zoom Q and A session presented by Bernstein Shur on 4/28/21, with company representatives participating from Norway, the session did not allow any audience participation. Attendees were not pictured or listed so only the Company knew how many were in attendance. The Chat was disabled. The Q/A function was enabled, but none of the live entered questions were posed by the moderator or answered by the company principals, their attorneys and consultants. 

This project is extremely complex, relies on the timely coordination of detailed electronic data, presents many significant potential environmental, mechanical, technical, oversight and accident/hazard risks. Since a project of this type and scale (30 huge semi-closed pens projected to raise 66,000,000 million pounds per annum) has never been installed anywhere in the world, no pertinent experiential data can exist. In order to evaluate their modeled and projected assumptions, DEP and we will need access to comprehensive data in a timely manner that will allow us to fully evaluate them, with experts and lawyers if need be, and to prepare an informed response. It appears that the Company is stalling by refusing to answer questions and reveal specific data they will be presenting in their application until the last possible minute in order to put us and the DEP at a disadvantage. Yet they claim to be interested in forming good relationships with the communities surrounding the Bay by adjusting their project design to fit our concerns. If we are not fully informed, we cannot begin to raise reality-based concerns. They have reacted to a casual comment by one lobsterman about ocean bottom characteristics by moving their site; another lobsterman claims the new site is just as important to them because lobsters move all around the bottom. They claim they went from underwater electric cable supply to generators to appease the lobstermen; did they consider the environmental impact of the huge generator capacity they would have to install? 

American Aquafarms is a Wyoming-registered, Norwegian company helmed by a Norwegian gentleman whose background is in finance not fishing. He readily admits to having been convicted of investor fraud and sentenced to four years in prison, of which he served over two, and was fined a significant sum. The parent company is privately owned by foreign investors; the company has indicated interest in Pine Tree Zone exemption from State taxes; the financial profits will flow to the investors and private consulting firms, not to the State of Maine or its residents. 

It seems to us that the onus is on American Aquafarms to prove that their system works, that it is financially sound and will not harm our environment and our conserved lands, disrupt our economy, defile the iconic view from our National Park, or change the culture and character of the region by introducing industrialization to an area that is renowned throughout the world as a beautiful, accessible natural preserve. In order to even begin to do so, they must be fully transparent and allow access to all pertinent information as and when it is requested. 

Very truly yours,

 

Friends of Frenchman Bay          Friends of Eastern Bay           Save the Bay 

     Kathleen Rybarz                          Jerilyn Bowers                    Ted O’Meara

 

Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage             Friends of the Schoodic Peninsula 

           Crystal Canney                                          Jacqueline Weaver

 

 

cc: Commissioner Patrick Kelliher

      Governor Janet T. Mills

      Ms. Cindy Dionne, DEP