After years of delays and long periods of silence, the developers of a land-based Atlantic salmon farm in Bucksport that was once celebrated for its potential to help redevelop the former mill town now say they plan to move ahead with a project that’s a fraction of the original size.
Local officials are still enthusiastic about the potential of the fish farm, which they say would grow the tax base and possibly even open up new opportunities at a smaller size. But Bucksport residents are more skeptical now about what the project could do for a community that’s been working to recover from the closure of its biggest employer, the Verso Paper mill, for a decade.
Whole Oceans, LLC first proposed a 20,000-metric-ton facility on part of the former paper mill site in 2018, with plans to have it completed in 2020. The site has remained dormant since then and its local permits lapsed last year, with the company saying little about the delays until last month. Town officials also started creating backup plans in case the farm was never built.
The smaller new concept has only been publicly revealed in recent weeks. In June, Whole Oceans made a proposal to investors for a 3,000-metric-ton project, which was just 15 percent of the original size. Their announcement comes at an uncertain time for large-scale aquaculture in Maine, as three other highly visible and once economically promising fish farm projects have failed to materialize in the state because they’ve been abandoned or delayed.
Just six years ago, fish farms were seen as a huge opportunity for growth in Maine and a way to meet an enormous demand for domestically produced seafood, which has also helped to boost existing aquaculture operations along the coast. When the Bucksport land deal closed in 2019, then-Town Manager Susan Lessard said it was a “huge step forward” for the town as the first investment on the former mill site.
“If there is a report of a very happy woman dancing in front of the Town Office, that would be me,” she told the Bangor Daily News at the time.
If any of those fish farm proposals did succeed and the growth of Atlantic salmon could be scaled up into mass production, Maine could be at the front of a new national industry, the BDN reported then. But so far, they haven’t, and some Bucksport residents said Thursday that they didn’t know much about the farm or whether it was still in progress.
“I’m kind of skeptical it’s ever going to happen at this point,” said Bob Sikkel, who’s lived downtown for 20 years.
He’s supportive of land-based fish farming and felt positive about the project when it was proposed, though some other locals were unsure at the time, he said.
Sikkel thinks the town’s economy is still in transition from the mill’s closure, and he believes Bucksport needs a “nucleus of energy” to draw people — but, he added, too much traffic might create its own challenges. Overall, he’d like to see a sustainable and environmentally responsible industry on the former mill site.
Whole Oceans officials were not available for detailed comments about their new proposal. After initially agreeing to an interview with the Bangor Daily News, they instead shared a presentation that gave an overview of the updated plans.
In comments to the Ellsworth American last month, a Whole Oceans spokesperson said the smaller proposal is a “proof of concept” for the farm to show financial backers.
Whole Oceans is now also partnering with the companies PR Aqua and Kuterra Salmon, according to the presentation. The current design for the farm would be modular and easily scaled up.
Kuterra was the first U.S. farm to use the type of system pitched in Bucksport; its operation in British Columbia has since switched from Atlantic to steelhead salmon.
Its website has listed the Bucksport site as a producer of these fish, but Whole Oceans’ spokesperson did not confirm whether that change would take place. The spokesperson also did not answer a question about whether its smaller plans were representative of a reduced promise for fish farming in Maine.
Whole Oceans met with a warmer reception than two similar projects proposed in the state around the same time: Nordic Aquafarms, which this January gave up its plans to build one of the world’s largest fish arms in Belfast after resident pushback, and Kingfish Maine in Jonesport, which has been tied up in legal challenges for years. Another land-based farm is progressing inland on the former site of Millinocket’s paper mill.
The Belfast, Bucksport and Jonesport proposals combined initially promised more than $850 million in investments and annual production of more than 100 million pounds of fish, according to the Global Seafood Alliance. Whole Oceans planned to invest up to $200 million in Bucksport and create 75 jobs, followed by up to 200 as it expanded — promising numbers for a town that lost more than 500 jobs when its mill closed in 2014.
Larry Wahl, a local businessman who has been involved in numerous projects in town for decades, said he was very excited about the farm when it was first proposed.
“That sounded like a real attraction to the town, and of course the tax base,” he said of the initial plans the developers shared. “But as time went on, obviously like everybody else I became disheartened that nothing was done.”
He’s glad the developers intend to move forward, but is less excited about a smaller proposal.
For Bucksport specifically, a smaller project may now “make sense for everybody,” according to Rich Rotella, the town’s economic development director.
“I’m not disappointed,” he said.
Since the mill closed, the town has worked to avoid relying on a single employer or industrial tax base.
If Whole Oceans sold or shared part of its acreage with other businesses, it could put the town in a stronger position, according to Rotella. More manufacturing businesses might convince CSX to reopen its defunct rail line leading into town from Orrington, which he said would be a “win-win” for the region and the state.
Bucksport still provides an ideal site because a power plant abuts Whole Ocean’s property; fish farms need a 24/7 power source, and Maine’s higher electricity rates make it harder for such farms to do business here, according to Rotella. The town still wants to work with the company, he said.
The years of delay have also pushed back a tax increment financing district that was projected to provide Bucksport more than $4.27 million over the course of 20 years. The details might need to be changed with local and state approval if the project shrank significantly.
The company is open to other uses of some of its land, but doesn’t have set plans, according to the American.
Land-based aquaculture proposals are still meeting challenges with technology and finding investors, the Maine Aquaculture Association’s executive director, Sebastian Belle, told Global Seafood Alliance in March.
Proposals along the coast have also become more challenging with more people and demands for use on limited land, making inland production more appealing, the Millinocket project’s CEO said.
Experts told the seafood publication that there is still a future for land-based aquaculture projects in Maine because of its proximity to larger cities and the state’s brand — but it could take more time.
“I still welcome them,” said Wahl, the Bucksport businessman. “But I just wish they’d step up a little.”
