125 boats parade in protest against proposed Frenchman Bay salmon farm
Courtesy / Ted O’Meara
A procession of lobster boats and pleasure took part in an on-the-water protest against a proposed salmon farm in Frenchman Bay.
It wasn't a picket line, but opponents to the potential creation of a $300 million salmon farm in Frenchman Bay were out in force Sunday — parading as a flotilla.
Over 125 boats participated in the parade, dubbed “Save the Bay,” which was held to protest the proposal by Norwegian firm American Aquafarms, according to a news release.
The event was organized by Frenchman Bay United, a coalition of groups and individuals working to stop the project.
“Without question, this project has the potential to devastate the lobster industry in this area,” Zach Piper, a Hancock lobsterman and board member with Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Foundation, another opponent of the project, said in the release.
American Aquafarms has engaged in a permitting process to lease two sites in Frenchman Bay, between Bar Harbor and Schoodic Peninsula, of about 60 acres each.
The company wants to install 15 “closed pens” plus an operations barge at each site, with the goal of eventually producing 30,000 metric tons, or 66 million pounds, of salmon annually. The salmon would be processed at a facility in Gouldsboro, currently owned and operated by Maine Fair Trade Lobster. American has an option to buy the property.
At an application hearing in June, American Aquafarms representatives, said closed pens are a “proven and robust” technology. They said the equipment is sourced from “industry leading solutions developed and utilized for a number of years and are considered best available technology in the industry.”
But, said Piper, “We need to make sure this never happens and then fix the rules and regulations that got us here in the first place. If we don’t stop this project, it will be only the beginning of selling our entire coastline to out-of-state investors who don’t care one bit about our heritage or jobs like mine that depend on a healthy, clean environment.”
Boats gathered near one of the two 60-acre pen sites, proposed to be placed off an island called the Hop, or Long Porcupine. The flotilla proceeded to the site and then paraded through Bar Harbor before dispersing. The parade included working lobster boats and pleasure craft.
Local groups and individuals have previously registered opposition to the project with the Department of Marine Resources, which accepted the firm’s applications for the lease sites earlier this summer. Opponents have cited proximity to Acadia National Park and to small-scale maritime activities as reasons for concern.
The flotilla was organized by Hancock restaurateur Leslie Harlow.
“The synergy of tourism, lobstering, owner-operator independent aquaculture operations, and recreational boating works beautifully on Frenchman Bay,” Harlow said. “A proposal of this magnitude threatens all of that.”
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Whatever you do, make sure you stop this monster project. It is a semi-open salmon farm, not a closed farm. It will take away your silence, your darkness and your beautiful views. Frederik W. Mowinckel.
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