By Hallie Arno, Aquaculture Organizing Intern
Maine has a strong tradition of the working waterfront. Last summer, I harvested seaweed out of South Gouldsboro, a small Downeast fishing village. Each morning, we woke for low tide, sometimes as early as 3:15 AM, donned our wetsuits, and motored towards the sunrise to small islands and ledges in Frenchman Bay, near Acadia National Park. Once it was light enough, we slid into the frigid 55° water to cut the golden strands of kelp. In the joy of bouncing in the waves, seeing seals and porpoises, and the satisfaction of pulling in our haul for the day, I felt connected to the environment around me, and knew we, like most of the fishermen working around us, were working to create a sustainable fishery and community.
From a local shellfish farmer, I heard about a proposal to bring salmon pens into Frenchman Bay, the same bay I harvested seaweed in, near where I go to school at College of the Atlantic. This was the water where I learned how to run boats and studied marine biology, and these were the shores I walked along almost every day. Though I was supportive of shellfish and seaweed aquaculture and had worked on the school’s aquaculture site, the salmon farms seemed like they would do more harm than good. These pens would hold thousands of fish, in such close proximity that supplemental oxygen would be needed to prevent massive die-offs. The pollution would threaten both local shellfish farms by contaminating them as well as harm water quality for species like eelgrass, lobsters, and wild Atlantic Salmon, an endangered species.
The densely-packed fish are a perfect breeding ground for viruses, which could spread to wild populations. It would harm Maine’s iconic wild fisheries while allowing foreign corporations to profit from the environmental destruction of Maine’s waters. Generators would emit thousands of metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, increasing the town’s emissions dramatically and moving the state further away from emissions reduction goals. This is not a sustainable solution, and I plan to fight against the destruction of a bay that I live, work, study, and play in.
Then, I learned that this was not the only proposed industrial aquaculture site in Maine. There are currently five companies along the coast and inland that have submitted permits with the Maine DEP. This winter, I have been working for Sierra Club Maine to create a campaign plan to oppose this destructive industrial aquaculture development in Maine. We are working to produce educational materials, to create alliances with other organizations, and to connect with affected communities.
Now is a critical moment in the fight to protect Maine’s coasts, watersheds, and working waterfronts from environmentally harmful industrial aquaculture development before these practices become commonplace in the state. By raising awareness and organizing a grassroots effort to stop industrial aquaculture projects that discharge effluent, fill wetlands, and use excessive fossil fuels, we can keep our working waterfronts and communities healthy.