Belfast lobstermen fear Nordic Aquafarms' discharge pipes will harm fishery
Courtesy / Nordic Aquafarms
A computer rendering of the proposed Nordic Aquafarms site in Belfast.
Some Belfast lobster fishermen told the local Harbor Advisory Committee that they were concerned that dredging for installation of Nordic Aquafarms’ discharge and intake pipes along submerged lands could release mercury in the ocean sediment and pose a hazard to navigation.
Mercury contamination has closed lobster and crab fishing in part of Penobscot Bay in recent years.
The Belfast Town Council heard about the concerns at its May 7 meeting.
“The fishermen have concerns,” advisory committee member Dan Miller told the council. The committee doesn’t have any purview over Nordic Aquafarms’ proposal, he noted. “Our place is to ask you to make sure those concerns are in some way addressed by the appropriate agency.”
Miller said “a handful of fishermen” voiced concerns that dredging for installation of the pipes could stir up mercury. He noted that some testing for mercury has been performed in the area. Further testing would likely identify whether it’s a valid concern, he said.
“We would suggest that, if we run into mercury during the [installation] process, we would stop the process and look again,” Miller said. “But we won’t know until we get there, short of considerable testing.”
The committee also heard concerns that pipe operation could increase water temperature in the surrounding area and affect lobster fishing, he said.
With regard to the possibility of mercury being stirred up through dredging, “Is this something that we as a city should contact the state to have them address?” Councilor Paul Dean asked the city’s director of code and planning, Wayne Marshall.
“I think it’s appropriate for the council to reflect these concerns to the state without necessarily taking a position one way or the other,” Marshall responded.
Nordic is in the process of seeking a submerged lands lease from the state Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry’s Bureau of Parks and Lands, to install one 36-inch-diameter water discharge pipe and two 20-inch-diameter water intake pipes within a 40-foot-wide corridor on submerged land for commercial use, according to a Bureau of Public Lands notice posted on the city’s website.
The discharge pipe would extend 2,800 feet beyond the mean low-water mark. The intake pipes would extend 5,510 feet beyond the mean low-water mark. The pipes would be buried to a depth of 5 feet in the intertidal zone. “Mean low-water mark” is defined as the level reached by seawater at low tide.
In January 2018, Nordic announced its plans to build a land-based salmon farm in Belfast on 40 acres in two phases. Phase 1 — an estimated $150 million investment involving a facility with a capacity of some 16,000 tons and the creation of 60 jobs — is being designed in Norway. Construction is expected to start this year, with operations expected to begin in 2020. The facility will be an end-to-end operation, including hatcheries and fish processing
Opponents to the project have also questioned Nordic Aquafarms’ right to access certain privately owned shorefront land and cross Route 1 in order to install the pipes.
In a May 16 news release emailed to Mainebiz, Nordic Aquafarms said it has obtained the necessary permissions from landowners and from the city.
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