Good Morning,
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation (PMFHF) will be supporting a bill critical to the protection of our oceans, including the protection of the ocean bottom. Among our concerns is the reporting by some lobstermen that conditions around in-water salmon pens are harming the lobster habitat.
The bill, LD 1146, "An Act To Protect Maine's Ocean Waters and Support Regulatory Oversight and the Long-term Health of the Aquaculture Industry," is designed to protect small aquaculturists from being gobbled up by industrialized sized aquaculture leases. We are again talking about a reduction in the 1,000 acres for aquaculture leases.
LD 1146 is sponsored by Rep. Robert Alley of Beals and co-sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson of Aroostook County and Rep. Lynne Williams of Bar Harbor. Additional details about the bill can be found here: LD 1146.
If you'd like to add your name to the petition stating that 1,000 acres is too much for one aquaculture leaseholder to have, you can do so on our website here.
The governor has historically voted in favor of clean air and water so Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation met with Governor Mills this month to present her with this legislation and inform her of how little industry representation was present in both 2006 and 2017 when significant aquaculture rules changes were enacted. PMFHF President Rock Alley, Director Adam Ulrickson, and former Maine Aquaculture Director Jon Lewis were present. We will be reconnecting with the Governor’s office on the 29th.
PMFHF Director Keith Kennedy was published recently in the Ellsworth American. You can read his piece here.
We are actively working on the issue of the proposed American Aquafarms lease for Gouldsboro for over 100 acres of net pen salmon. PMFHF along with other concerned citizens groups will comment once the application for in-water salmon at the foot of Acadia National Park is made public. As of this morning, it has not been posted.
Best,
Crystal Canney
Executive Director
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation
Protectmaine@gmail.com
207-615-5968