{"id":15147,"date":"2018-07-16T18:24:20","date_gmt":"2018-07-16T22:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/?p=15147"},"modified":"2019-05-10T11:14:54","modified_gmt":"2019-05-10T15:14:54","slug":"aquaculture-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.portlandmonthly.com\/portmag\/aquaculture-club\/","title":{"rendered":"Aquaculture Club"},"content":{"rendered":"

July\/August 2018 | view this story as a .pdf<\/a><\/p>\n

Countries eye Maine as the prime location for ocean farming.<\/span><\/h3>\n

By Colin S. Sargent \u2022 Illustrations by Ed king<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"JA-18-Ocean-Farms\"F<\/strong><\/span>rom artisanal small-batch farmers to the largest indoor aquaculture facilities in the world, Maine is emerging as a hotspot for locally-and-globally conceived fish-farming projects. Nordic Aquafarms<\/strong>, headquartered in Fredrikstad, Norway, already has two projects in Denmark beyond their flagship local plant. In Maine, Nordic plans to build a $450M, 33,000-ton solar-powered indoor salmon farm that will be one of the largest in the world. The salmon will be raised in massive indoor tanks in the planned 40-acre facility carefully filtered by cutting-edge equipment. Why go to all this trouble? It\u2019s all about trying to stay one step ahead of parasites\u2013in fact, a Norwegian marine science lab has even created a laser-armed drone that zaps sea lice at short range, chemical free. We caught up with Erik Heim<\/strong>, CEO of Nordic Aquafarms, at his rocky-coast site just across the border from Sweden to get an answer for why these big, new indoor fish-farming concepts are attracting big investments to Maine coastal sites from Belfast to Bucksport.<\/span><\/p>\n

PROOF IS IN THE WATER<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe started with a scientific approach, working hand in hand with an engineering firm from Norfolk [Virginia],\u201d Heim says. \u201cWe looked at elevation, water quality, and other environmental factors. Maine\u2019s established brand in quality seafood was also a great fit for us. It\u2019s difficult to find both clean, fresh water and access to seawater, in a place where it\u2019s nice for people working there to live, where you have services and so on. Belfast clearly stood out as the best place to pursue. It turns out, there was a property located ideally that had both freshwater and seawater access.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn regard to challenges that we\u2019ve faced, we know aquaculture has been controversial in the U.S. We\u2019re not involved in sea-pen farming, which has been the major source of objections. The land-based systems can neither be invaded by nor contribute to the host populations for sea lice. We have full control of everything that comes in and out of the facility.\u201d Sophisticated recirculation systems conserve water and allow for careful monitoring of the inflow to the fish. \u201cWe invest in environmental technologies that preserve as many of the nutrients as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of innovation going on in many areas. In Norway, there\u2019s a major investment push to go further out of sea. You\u2019re seeing new projects showcasing both offshore and land-based innovations. It\u2019s an exciting period. [There are] new types of feed ingredients. Land-based is not the only answer, but it\u2019s part of the answer, and it makes it possible to do farming in places where it hadn\u2019t been considered before. In Norway, you see, we\u2019re subject to very strict regulations to what we can discharge, so that is how we are used to doing business.<\/p>\n

\u201cAquaculture is a major growth industry. The academic institutions in Maine are very interested in expanding the scope of their programs. We\u2019re going to be doing our part to contribute to that, and so we\u2019re very excited to see how it develops. That\u2019s going to create great opportunities for Mainers both here and abroad. I\u2019m moving to Maine in three months, so I see this investment as a partnership between Maine and Norway. I can say already that we\u2019ve been working with the resource institution down by the harbor, and opened up connections between them and various educational programs in Norway. We hope to provide support and exchange programs as a part of our strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

A NEW VISION<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

R<\/strong><\/span>obert Piasio<\/strong>, CEO of Whole Oceans<\/strong>, concurs when announcing the purchase of the former Verso paper mill in Bucksport, and also placed Whole Oceans\u2019 $250M project within the context of Maine\u2019s economic history. \u201cThis story is also about the resiliency and determination of towns throughout Maine that make projects like this possible,\u201d he says. \u201cWhole Oceans is entering a long-term partnership with the community of Bucksport, a responsibility we accept with the greatest care, and together we will strive to make Whole Oceans a source of pride every single day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

A MAINE VOICE<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Leslie Harrow<\/strong> at Sullivan Harbor Farm<\/strong> offers an artisanal perspective on these new products. \u201cThe science of land-based aquaculture has become a significant way to grow large quantities of fish. I went to one 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 proximity 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 salmon is that because it\u2019s a science-based methodology, there is a reduced risk of microbiological contaminants, [whereas in] aquaculture that\u2019s 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 listeria, or other microbiological challenges.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve tasted land-based fish, and it\u2019s just not the same taste as a salmon that\u2019s raised actually in the sea,\u201d says Harrow. \u201cThere is a difference. When we\u2019re shopping 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn another level, the reality of these land-based fish is that they\u2019re not going to process it here in Maine. If they\u2019re going to make it here in Maine, they should fillet it here and sell some of it here in Maine as a land-based product. We have enough advantages in Maine to attract these businesses, so we should make sure the state is aggressive to make sure these jobs are beneficial to Mainers and the New England market. Especially if we\u2019re 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 facility where it\u2019s then filleted and then packed. Why can\u2019t we do more of the processing here, if we\u2019re going to make a national 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the ever-increasing market in the U.S. for salmon (over 500,000 tons annually and growing), it looks like there\u2019s room for all of the possible production that can happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

July\/August 2018
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