The proposal responded to concerns around the potential for large finfish farms to expand into Maine. But Lubec residents have noted the contributions to the local economy by a current farmer.
Voters in the town of Gouldsboro, the state of Maine on the US Atlantic coast have placed a moratorium on large-scale fish farms until at least the next boreal spring. The vote took place during a special town meeting.
Circulation models by academic oceanographers predict that fish waste could stay in the bay. But the company’s new CEO last week said the operation would produce healthy fish without impacting the seabed.
Divisive opinions around Maine s growing aquaculture industry, particularly a proposed salmon farming operation in Frenchman Bay, are driving lawmakers to consider studying coastal development in general.
The Legislature’s Marine Resource Committee held a public hearing Tuesday on LD 1211, “Resolve, To Create the Study Group To Research Balancing Development and Conservation in Maine s Coastal Waters and Submerged Lands,” introduced by state Rep. Lynne Williams, D-District 135.
A goal of the bill is to establish regional units functioning in individual bay areas, composed of municipal representatives and consultants, that would be able to provide input into how each bay is used.
The resolve would establish the group “to address current system deficiencies in the regulation of the state s coastal waters and submerged lands.”