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Downeast waters get a cleanup of abandoned aquaculture gear

A barge is loaded with gear. Photo / Courtesy Maine Aquaculture Association New DHC, a Machiasport firm whose vessels service Cooke USA’s aquaculture operations in Maine, provided its 72-foot barge Ocean Bay for the cleanup, seen here with a full load of debris.
By Laurie Schreiber

Seven 70-meter plastic rings, 240 yards of debris, massive granite blocks, 3,220 feet of pipe.

Abandoned aquaculture equipment that hadn’t been used for years — posing a navigational hazard and an eyesore in Downeast waters — was recently removed thanks to a collaborative effort led by the Maine Aquaculture Association in Gardiner.

Members of the aquaculture, fishing and conservation communities, state regulators and local businesses and residents participated in the clean-up of abandoned aquaculture gear in the Mount Desert Narrows of Blue Hill Bay.

The equipment was located in Great Cove near Bartlett Narrows and Harwood Island.

Crews used chainsaws to disassemble 3,220 feet of pipe into manageable pieces that were donated to an individual who is repurposing the plastic. The crew also hauled off a total of 240 yards of debris. 

Dilapidated gear

In use since the 1990s, the aquaculture equipment was most recently used for mussel farming. However, the gear hadn’t been used in years, according to a news release.

The association received permission from the Department of Marine Resources to coordinate the cleanup and to repurpose, recycle, or dispose of the dilapidated gear.

"A cleanup like this isn’t normally our responsibility, but we made a special exception for this site that fell into disrepair due to a series of unfortunate events,” said Katherine Lipp, the association’s community engagement coordinator. “There were some holdups with the original contractor hired to do the job and, as an industry, we believe that when these systems fail, we need to work together to solve the problem.”

Cooke assist

Cooke USA, which farms Atlantic salmon in the Downeast region and has the infrastructure, equipment, personnel and expertise needed for such a project, offered to take the lead on extracting the gear from Great Cove. 

The gear was not owned by Cooke USA.

Cooke USA’s in-house diving team, which is certified to work with high-tension, heavy objects, played a key role in the removal of 12 granite blocks used as anchors on the seafloor. The company absorbed the entire cost of $26,735, which included labor, fuel and recycling and disposal.

People stand in a line on a shore with a barge behind them.
Photo / Courtesy Maine Aquaculture Association
Cooke USA crewmembers are seen at Bass Harbor Marina after the cleanup was complete.

The eight-day cleanup also involved Bass Harbor Marine, Acadia Roll-Offs, B&A Trucking, local fishermen, the town of Mount Desert and Maine Coast Heritage Trust.

For Cooke USA, the effort involved 10 employees of New DHC, a Machiasport firm whose vessels service Cooke USA’s Atlantic salmon aquaculture operations in Maine, led by Frank Lank, New DHC’s production manager.

New DHC’s 72-foot barge Ocean Bay traveled from its home waters of Eastport, providing a workspace for the crew. A 24-foot skiff was also brought in to assist with the cleanup.

Working from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., the crew put in a total of nearly 750 hours of work. 

“Being productive contributors to Maine’s working waterfront and good stewards of the environment means stepping up and offering our services and expertise in a time of need, including cleaning up aquaculture gear that isn’t ours,” said Lank. 

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