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An group of residents of the U.S. state of Maine have announced their opposition to an American Aquafarms proposal to grow up to 30,000 metric tons (MT) of Atlantic salmon in closed net-pens located near the town of Gouldsboro.
American Aquafarms President and CEO Mikael Rones told SeafoodSource soon after the project’s announcement he chose Maine due to its natural resources and the aquaculture industry’s potential in the state. The company purchased an East Coast lobster facility in Gouldsboro, Maine, in October 2020, with plans to establish a hatchery, fish farm facilities, and a processing plant.
“We looked at several areas over the U.S., and to us, we feel Maine is the right place based on water temperature and the potential of the industry in Maine. These are the two main reasons why we are there,” Rones said.
By Staff
A Portland-based fishery group is expressing concerns about the proposed site and size of a salmon farm in waters off Gouldsboro.
Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation said the area proposed by American Aquafarms, in Frenchman’s Bay, is heavily fished by lobstermen.
American Aquafarms is an aquaculture startup backed by a Norwegian investor that has under contract the purchase of the 100,000-square-foot Maine Fair Trade Lobster processing facility in Gouldsboro. The company hopes to develop a salmon-farming operation there.
American Aquafarms was launched in Portland last year by Mikael Rones, CEO of Global AS, which is based in Trondheim, Norway. The proposal calls for building a salmon hatchery as well as farming and processing facilities on the site and operate closed deep-water pens for raising fish.