There has been little sign of progress in the construction of a proposed salmon farm at the former paper mill in Bucksport, nearly five full years after the project was fully permitted by state and local officials.
In 2019, Whole Oceans was approved by Bucksport officials and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to build a $250 million land-based fish farm on the site of the former Verso mill.
Unlike some other fish farm proposals that have come to Maine in recent years and gotten bogged down by legal and other challenges, the Bucksport project was unique in that it faced minimal opposition along the way.
But while the company has had contractors on site to remove debris and control erosion, not much activity has happened in the years since, and actual construction has yet to begin.
Despite the lack of visible progress, officials from both the company and town are still optimistic about the project’s viability.
Whole Oceans last week declined to provide details on its anticipated construction schedule or development plans, but said in a brief statement that it’s “actively engaged in the final design and construction planning” for the facility.
Susan Lessard, Bucksport’s town manager, said that while five years is “a long time,” the company has made adjustments to its plan since 2019 by buying an abutting 10-acre property. She also noted it had to contend with a global pandemic.
“Nobody wants to see dirt flying there more than I do,” Lessard said. “I don’t think Whole Oceans is playing games with the town. They’re looking to get it right.”
Aquaculture has been growing in Maine, but all of the companies operating so far in the state — with the notable exception of the American Unagi eel farm in Waldoboro — raise their products at ocean-lease sites.
Whole Oceans is one of a few fin-fish companies looking to capitalize on that growth in Maine by making the leap to land-based production facilities.
Lessard noted that the company owns the former Bucksport mill site and some abutting properties totaling nearly 104 acres, and that it has stayed up to date on its annual property tax bill of roughly $86,000.
Other developers interested in the property have contacted the town, thinking it’s the owner, but Lessard said she has forwarded those inquiries to Whole Oceans. The company has shown no interest in selling it, she said.
The COVID-19 pandemic undoubtedly impacted the planning process and the project’s anticipated costs, which now are expected to be more than $250 million, Lessard said. There also are new technologies in development for land-based aquaculture, and that likely has contributed to the planning delays, she said.
“I think they’ve been pretty cautious in that respect,” Lessard said.
There have been some changes associated with the project. Whole Oceans has closed a local office that it opened in 2020 on Main Street. The lineup of other firms assisting Whole Oceans also appears to have somewhat changed in recent years.
In 2021, after Whole Oceans had received its state and local permits, companies such as PR Aqua, Cianbro, AZ Design, CES Inc., RLC Engineering and Sealander Architects had their logos on the large sign that greets visitors entering the site on River Road. Now those logos are gone, having been replaced by those of Penobscot General Contractors and Sargent Corp., as well as of Haley Ward, which is the new name of CES Inc.
At Tozier’s Market on Friday, less than a half-mile from the would-be salmon farm, two employees said they’re not troubled that construction has yet to begin.
“I wouldn’t say I’m concerned about it,” said Val Hill from behind the store’s meat counter. “I’m more curious than anything. I’m not staying up at night worrying about it.”
Hill’s co-worker, Logan Witham, said his grandfather worked at the former paper mill, which shut down nearly 10 years ago. The town has survived the past decade without a local major industrial employer, but having more jobs in Bucksport would be a good thing, he said.
“I like being optimistic about things,” Witham said.
The current lack of land-based fish farms in Maine in some ways resembles the failed rush in the mid-2000s to develop several liquefied natural gas terminals that were conceived along Maine’s coast.
But officials behind Whole Oceans and similar proposals, including another in the former mill town of Millinocket, say their fish farm concepts are still on the table.
In Belfast, the salmon farm proposed by Nordic Aquafarms has faced numerous setbacks, including a decision last week by the City Council to rescind its 2021 vote to secure shore access for the project by eminent domain. The company is still evaluating its options for the $500 million proposal.
Another project in Jonesport has been fully permitted and survived a court challenge. But its developer, Kingfish Maine, has said it intends to wait until other appeals are resolved before it begins construction of a $110 million land-based yellowtail farm overlooking Chandler Bay.
One large-scale project that aimed to grow salmon in Frenchman Bay appears to be fully blocked. The proposal from American Aquafarms, which at one point owned a former sardine cannery in Gouldsboro where it said it planned to process fish, was dropped after the company ran into local opposition and permitting issues, as well as financial complications in its home country of Norway.