J u ly / A u g u s t 2 0 1 8 9 5 of the meetings down in Bucksport for the Whole Oceans proposal. My view of it, after it all was said and done, was that they could have gone anywhere else in the world in the United States, but because of the proxim- ity to the fresh water and tidal water, they chose Bucksport, and also because a lot of discharge permits were already given to the paper companies there. For my business, one of the advantages of land-based salm- on is that because it’s a science-based meth- odology, there is a reduced risk of microbi- ological contaminants, [whereas in] aqua- culture that’s raised out in the sea, like in Norway, Scotland, or wherever, depending on the stocking density of the pens, the fish run a much higher risk for sea lice, for liste- ria, or other microbiological challenges. “I’ve tasted land-based fish, and it’s just not the same taste as a salmon that’s raised actually in the sea,” says Harrow. “There is a difference. When we’re shop- ping around for fish, one of the things that we inquire about is the feed, [along with] what the stocking density is, and what the mortality rate is. “On another level, the reality of these land-based fish is that they’re not going to process it here in Maine. If they’re going to make it here in Maine, they should fil- let it here and sell some of it here in Maine as a land-based product. We have enough advantages in Maine to attract these busi- nesses, so we should make sure the state is aggressive to make sure these jobs are beneficial to Mainers and the New Eng- land market. Especially if we’re going to give them tax breaks, we should make sure the person who has to pull the guts out of the fish gets a share with a chance to help process here in Maine. Their fish is sent to an out-of-state processing facili- ty where it’s then filleted and then packed. Why can’t we do more of the process- ing here, if we’re going to make a nation- al product? At least for us, though, for a quality, Maine value-added product, land- based is not there yet for us at Sullivan Harbor Farm.” Given the ever-increasing market in the U.S. for salmon (over 500,000 tons an- nually and growing), it looks like there’s room for all of the possible production that can happen. n