MORNING SENTINEL • April 25, 2023
Calling the aquaculture sector “farming” hides the reality of what is proposed. Billions of gallons of effluent a day into Maine’s estuaries is not “farming.” Five land-based projects are proposed in Belfast, Bucksport, Millinocket, Frenchman’s Bay and Jonesport. They would produce 211,000,000 pounds of seafood a year, with the help of relatively pristine and recovering public waters. This transfer of commons to corporations orchestrated by a small monied interest is elite capture. Carbon calculations estimate these five facilities alone would add the equivalent of roughly 400,000 cars to Maine’s roads. Nitrogen calculations reveal a cumulative release equivalent to pollution from about 1.2 million people. Maine could accelerate restoring fish runs in the hundreds of blocked streams so larger fisheries can rebound. Instead, Maine has invited venture capitalists poised to make salmon the new beef – for wealthy consumers. This has nothing to do with protein for the poor. ~ Jim Merkel, Belfast