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V O L . X X I V N O. X X I V O C T O B E R 1 5 , 2 0 1 8 14 T wo of the world's largest land- based Atlantic salmon farms are slated for construction in Maine's midcoast region. Nordic Aquafarms Inc., based in Norway, plans its operation on 54 acres in Belfast. Whole Oceans, in Portland, plans an operation on 108 acres in Bucksport. Both are moving through the permitting process for phased build- out. eir combined production at full build-out is expected to be 80,000 tons of salmon — capturing nearly one-fifth of the domestic import market. eir arrivals at the same time is coincidental, but both see the same advantages in Maine — things like pristine seawater, abundant groundwa- ter, coastal access, and existing mari- time research, academic and workforce development resources. Both plan to deploy cutting-edge technology at a scale never seen before in the land- based fish farming sector. And company leaders say the time is right to develop domestic produc- tion of Atlantic salmon, thanks to today's scalable land-based farming technology and what they say are its numerous advantages. "e U.S. is the largest single mar- ket for Atlantic salmon in the world," says Nordic Aquafarms President Erik Heim. "at creates a business case for increasing production in the U.S." "We believe that, with Whole Oceans and Nordic Aquafarms, Maine can lead the United States with land-based aquaculture," says Ben Willauer, Whole Oceans' chief development officer. Technology tipping point According to information provided by Whole Oceans, more than two mil- lion metric tons of Atlantic salmon were produced globally in 2017, gener- ating $10 billion in sales. A metric ton is 2,200 pounds. Of that, U.S. consumers eat 500,000 metric tons annually, spend- ing $2 billion per year. Virtually all Atlantic salmon con- sumed in the U.S. is farmed. But more than 95% percent of U.S. consumption is imported from foreign salmon farms. Nordic's planned output, when fully built out, would be 7% of current U.S. consumption and Whole Oceans 10%. Both companies expect U.S. con- sumption to grow. Key to their plans is a technique called "recirculating aquaculture sys- tems." RAS occurs indoors using large tanks and continuously circulating water treatment systems. It's used in land- based hatcheries globally to grow eggs to a juvenile size robust enough to transfer to net pens in the sea, where grow-out continues until fish reach market size. Maine's Atlantic salmon sea farming sector uses RAS hatcheries. By contrast, Nordic and Whole Oceans plan to deploy RAS for the entire life cycle, from egg to market- size. Indoor facilities provide a con- trolled environment with filtration, waste treatment, controlled feeding protocols and independence from environmental variables, all designed to minimize potential pollution, disease and parasite impacts on the environ- ment and fish alike, says Heim. "e technology is not new," says Heim. "We're taking it one step further, to harvest size. e difference is in some of the logistics of handling bigger fish. But the technology, in many ways, is the same, although it's rapidly developing in the industry as a whole." "Certainly the scale of the two pro- posed operations is new and different — and it's new and different for any- where in the world," says Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association. "ere are many smaller operations in many dif- ferent countries. But we're now seeing the next generation of RAS projects that are on a much large scale." According to a report commissioned by the city of Belfast from global busi- ness consultant Deloitte, there's a trend growing toward land-based salmon farming for the complete life cycle. "is could have several advantages, like removing geographical limitations, R E N D E R I N G S / C O U R T E S Y W H O L E O C E A N S, N O R D I C A Q UA FA R M S Salmon farmers Midcoast Maine viewed as ideal region to launch land-based fish-farm sector B y L a u r i e S c h r e i B e r M I D C O A S T & D OW N E A S T M A I N E F O C U S TOP: In Bucksport, Whole Oceans will convert the former Verso paper mill into a salmon farm. MIDDLE AND BOTTOM: In Belfast, Nordic Aquafarms plan calls for solar panels to generate energy and protect vegetation.

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