A 12 August Bangor Daily News article reported that Stolt Sea Farm and Atlantic Salmon of Maine are determining if they will be able to survive financially now that they have to comply with the Clean Water Act and other anti-pollution laws (see Sublegals 8:06/07). On 6 August, the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the court-ordered restrictions on the farms to comply with the Clean Water Act will stand. Atlantic Salmon and Stolt employ dozens of Mainers and make up about half of the state's annual $65 million in salmon production with their combined harvest of 4 million pounds. To meet the court's requirements, all of the companies' farm sites that are currently occupied - about half of the total sites - will have to remain empty once the current generations of fish are harvested over the next year. And they will only be able to restock with salmon from North America, which may prove difficult to find, as Atlantic Salmon are listed as "endangered" under the federal Endangered Species Act. A spokesman for Atlantic Salmon of Maine reported that further appeals by the company were unlikely. Stolt has not yet made a public statement about its plans. Since the initial court order, Maine's Board of Environmental Protection has drafted salmon farming regulations as part of its general finfish aquaculture permitting process.
In related Maine news, controversy is stirring over the lack of a commercial fishing representative on the Blue Ribbon Task Force on Marine Aquaculture in Maine's Stakeholder Advisory Panel. The Task Force on Marine Aquaculture in Maine was put in place to review the role of municipalities in aquaculture leasing and the impact of aquaculture on Maine's wild fisheries, coastal resorts, tourism and coastal communities, and is supposed to issue a report to the Legislature in January 2004. The report will suggest changes to Maine's aquaculture laws for consideration by the Legislature.
A commercial fishing representative presence was mandated by the legislation (LD 1519) that created the panel. Maine Speaker of the House Pat Colwell is responsible for picking someone, and meetings of the panel have gone on without the commercial fishing industry being represented. It is not clear whether the task force can lawfully meet without a complete advisory panel roster. This comes after a divisive pro-aquaculture essay by former Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Spencer Appollonio was posted on the Task Force website. Public outcry caused the posting to be taken down soon after it was posted and it is now on a list of draft documents available for public comment. To see the Appollonio document go to http://www.penbay.org/apolloniodoc703.html. To see responses to the Appollonio essay go to: http://www.penbay.org/aqapolloresponse.html. To view the home page for the Task Force go to: http://www.state.me.us/dmr/aquaculture/aqtaskforce/aqtfhomepage.htm
Source: email from Sublegals 21aug03
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