Pending Middle Bay aquaculture lease vexes ‘voiceless’ residents

TIMES RECORD • March 6, 2023

The towns of Harpswell and Brunswick, along with residents of both communities, have concerns about Timothy Johnson’s application for a 20-year, standard aquaculture lease, which would grant him the exclusive right to raise and harvest millions of oysters and quahogs on 17.4 acres in Middle Bay. Skeptics saw a public hearing last month as an opportunity to voice a wide range of doubts about Johnson’s proposal. But the DMR officials’ refusal to engage in some lines of questioning left some frustrated at a process they say is opaque and unfair to local communities. As Maine’s $90 million aquaculture industry has ballooned in recent years, fishermen have grown increasingly concerned about how leases like Johnson’s could impact their business.